“I’ll think about it. Good to see you again”
“Nice to see you too Art. Have a safe one.”
“I intend to,” he said waving over his shoulder as he headed for Alpha mine.
Paul and his staff sat at the conference table for their monthly meeting.
“Mac, why don’t you go first? You are getting to have all the fun.”
“That’s one way of looking at it I suppose. Well, BARD is doing even better than I had hoped for. Here are the tonnage figures as of last night,” he said passing around a spreadsheet.
“Holy smokes. Are you kidding me?” Paul said after looking at the figures.
“Not too bad for five people.”
“I guess you could say that. It has produced more in two week than the other three combined.”
“Pretty slick huh?”
“Yeah, pretty slick.”
“So if I’m reading this right,” Ann said, “We are way ahead of our estimate.”
“That is correct,” Mac replied.
“So our break-even is going to be less than we thought. That means we are going to be in really good financial shape in about another month.”
“I don’t know about that, I don’t understand the financial end but if you’re saying that we are going to produce more than we ever have before, you are spot on,” Mac told her.
“Paul, I think I will forgo my report. I need to really study this and see what it will do for us.”
“I totally understand. This could change the entire complexion of the company. This is exciting stuff,” Paul said, with a huge smile.
“Did you know Art has been nosing around the new mine? He has been ‘accidentally’ running into Sally almost every day. I would imagine he knows exactly how much has come out of Delta.”
“Well, we can’t do much about that. I mean, I would be curious too if I was in his shoes.”
“A couple of people have told me he is trying to stir up the rank and file by telling them that they won’t have jobs once we realize how efficient BARD is.”
“Then we need to do something to counteract him. Let’s call a work stoppage day, with pay, and have an appreciation day. Ann, would you mind heading that up? I want it to be really nice. Not just dogs and burgers on the grill. We need to really lay it on so they know how much we appreciate their work. I’ll do a quick dog and pony show to reassure them that the three other mines will continue to operate as before. We’ll set up a place they can come to offer suggestions to make it safer or more efficient to work in the mines,” Paul said.
“Hell, let’s just fire his butt,” Barney replied.
“Oh that would be a great idea. Fire the union representative. No problem there. Can you imagine how that would play out, not to mention the litigation cost?” Ann said, rolling her eyes.
“So we let him hold us hostage, is that what you are suggesting?”
“No. I’m saying that by firing him we would face not only the UMWA but the labor board as well. The expense would be out of this world. Firing him is simply not an option unless he does something against company policy or criminal. Stirring people up is almost part of his job description since he is the representative for the UMWA.”
“Well I don’t like it,” Barney said stubbornly.
“It isn’t an option,” Paul said, ending the discussion.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Worker appreciation day was a huge success. At least for the most part. Steaks were grilled, there were inflatable toys for the children and gallons and gallons of ice cream. Paul gave a short speech about how much the company appreciated each and every one of them and reaffirmed the company’s position of not using the BARD in any of the three previous mines.
Art Stetson and Nate Learner did their best to let people know that management could not be trusted. Despite their efforts, everyone had a good time and took Paul at his word.
“Nate, these people are fools. They think a little pat on the back is sufficient. We need to get this thing nipped in the bud before it is too late.”
“So how do we accomplish that?” Nate asked.
“I have been thinking about that for some time. Whatever we do it can’t be traced back to us. It has to be some sort of an accident that causes serious damage to the machine.”
“That is easier said than done,” Nate insisted.
“Of course it isn’t going to be easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is but we need to think of something. Paul may be okay but I don’t trust Falk any further than I can throw him and I can’t even pick him up.”
“That much huh?” Nate said.
“Maybe a little less.”
“You said you knew someone who could help us. Maybe you should talk to him and see if he comes up with any suggestions.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s time to do something or just let our jobs disappear,” Art replied.
>MINER ONE CONTACTED ME AGAIN> HE WANTS TO MEET WITH U<
>GET REAL> LIKE I WOULD MEET HIM FACE TO FACE<
>OMG WHAT A DWEEB<
>4Sur<
>?<
>I WILL HAVE SOMEONE MEET M1. THEY WILL CONTACT YOU WITH DETAILS. U RELAY THEM 2 ME<
>K<
RiotousOne sat back and thought about what his cutout had just sent. He would have to send a mule to meet with this guy and find out what he wants. He had it set up so that one mule would meet with the guy and then relay the information to a second mule that would in turn, send it to his cutout. His cutout lived in Australia, three thousand miles away. It would take a little time but the security was worth it to him.
>EAGER4 I NEED YOU TO MEET WITH A MAN CALLED MINER1. HE HAS SOME BUSINESS THAT WE MAY BE INTERESTED IN. GET DETAILS AND RLAY THEM 2 ME ASAP. MEET PLACE BEST WEST YOUR CITY. TIME 5:00p.m. TOMORROW< RIOTIOUSONE >
>UNDERSTOOD<
Now all he could do is wait and see what this was all about.
“Absolutely not,” Paul answered.
“You’re not thinking this through. Look at what BARD has done in only six months. Ann said the payback has fallen substantially. She now projects a breakeven point in as little as twenty-three months. Unbelievable. Twenty-three months. Can you imagine what we could be doing with two or even three of those machines?”
“Barney, I’m not deaf nor am I dumb. I know what Ann is saying and I am ecstatic about how well everything has gone. But, we made a promise to the workers that we would not use any machine to replace them. We gave our word on that.”
“Word hell. We’re talking about a lot more profit. It’s as simple as that. Hell, with one more machine we could out produce all three mines combined and with a lot less overhead,” Barney replied.
“I understand. I know all of that to be true but I am not going to go back on my word. We can start looking for another coal vein and if we find a sizable one, we can use another BARD on it.”
“You know what it costs to do a site survey and get all the permits. We have three mines right now that we could use.”
“Sorry Barney. We are not going down that road. I will not go back on my word.”
“That’s a foolish mistake Paul.”
“It may be but that’s the way it is going to be,” he replied.
CHAPTER EIGHT
>INTERESTING. MINER1 WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU CAN TAKE CONTROL OF A RC MINING DRILL. HE WANTS IT REDIRECTED FROM ITS PRESENT COURSE. PAYMENT 25K<
>25K? IS HE KIDDING? MAYBE FOR 75K BUT NOT 25K<
>COULD BE INTERESTING. GAINING CONTROL AND LOCKING THE OPERATOR OUT. QUITE A CHALLENGE. IF U PASS, I MAY GIVE IT A TRY<
>LOL FROM WHERE YOU ARE?”<
>SURE<
>LET ME THINK ON IT BEFORE U TRY ANYTHING<
>DON’T WAIT 2 LONG. MINER1 HAS THE CASH NOW<
RiotousOne hated making quick decisions. He liked to think things through before he accepted a job. It wasn’t the money that really mattered. It was the challenge. Something he had never done before. The more he thought about it the more enthralled he became with the idea.
Within minutes he started working on a program. He would need more information from Miner1 but if he was really serious he would get what was needed. Twenty-five thousand wasn’t much but he decided to do the job.
He sat down and typed out a text and instructions with what he would need.