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— Management appreciates your patience during this most trying and difficult period sincerely yours yes sir.

— Talked to Emily since they got back?

— Yes sir. In fact sir, I think you should prepare yoursel…

— Says he’s talked to her just need some more time to come around she… Know that damn it but she’s got the boy back don’t she? Didn’t think she’d be so damn mean about it either maybe Cutler can talk some damn sense to her now they’re settled… only damn reason she wouldn’t come in sign those powers when she took off for Geneva just had to prove she Beaton! damn phone ringing there have to tell you to pick it up? maybe’s Broos, Monty…?

— Yes sir but it’s the room phone I, hello…?

— Know she’s Freddie’s damn guardian on this well as you do Monty, anything went wrong no signature on these powers have the other trustees by the short hair give her leverage to control both foundations everything in them any damn reason something should go wrong…?

— Then you’re at the Maine end Colonel yes, what… They have? When do you ex…

— Planned to miss three dividends in the first place didn’t we? No damn voting rights on it unless we miss the fourth one, pay that everything’s under control got Beaton here keeping an eye on the… who Freddie? Any word on Freddie Beaton?

— You mean the actual reconstituting hasn’t even excuse me, no sir Mrs Cutler is placing ads in the pap…

— Still out loose Monty no Wiles thought he saw him in Tripler’s elevator while back with Emily must have been wrong, Beaton says she’s got ads in the pap… must have got it from the doorman when she moved that drunk into their old place up on Seventy… Joubert no don’t know she… don’t know must have paid him off, damn lulu need it for lawyers job in a Swiss bank there dipped in the cash drawer bought back into Nobili when this outfit ran it up to nineteen turned right around wiped it out with their own Far East market nothing left but what…?

— Lost in transmission but that’s prepos…

— Same damn fool yes got the bit in his teeth there tried to give them away too, launched a big drug donation dates running out thought they’d deduct at retail, IRS disallows it lets them write off at cost under eighty thousand wholesale value damn near two million, drugs show up in every black market in the Pacific dates expire damn druggists returning them hand over fist get the wholesale price back nothing left of the company but this happy pill Zona’s on lose that patent suit all they’ve got’s this damn green aspirin FDA’s got them up on not worth… Depends what Broos comes up with Beaton standing here gossiping on the damn phone trying to reach him on… what, called Broos…?

— But he’s, but by train…?

— Must be that White some damn face was it? Whitefoot? Idiot we sent down there get him out of that damn bank when we took over stuck him in the FCC what’s he… same little wop he was mixed up with was on the state banking committee just pushed this girl out a… Ask Broos when I get him try to straighten it out yes…

— No not unless something positive develops Colonel goodbye, thank you for…

— Hang this damn thing up Beaton think I want to lie here listen to it whistle? Who the devil was that.

— Yes sir that was a call from the…

— What about that stockholder letter didn’t hear a damn thing about selling off that tobacco outfit.

— Yes sir that was deleted upon representation by the attorney for a Mrs Schramm that majority interest in Ritz Tobacco had not been conveyed in the acquisition of Triangle Paper in which she also had an interest as legatee, and while their earnings forecast based on the introduction of two new cigarette brands Ace and Mary Jane with extremely high promotion budgets is astronomical the company’s past record hardly justif…

— Just trying to hold us up let her have it, one damn thing we don’t need’s another tax loss what the devil you standing there for told you to get hold of Broos didn’t I? See where that damn new strip mining bill stands Monty tells me Stamper’s people already in there scraping up lowgrade coal where those damn Indians were camping out set up to gasify it make electricity teach the buggers to smash those washing machines, told you to keep an eye on that didn’t I?

— I have yes sir but apparently no electricity will be available in the vicinity of the reservation itself for, excuse me this phone line’s caught here, it’s intended to supply power for the city four hundred miles away where the power station itself is being located, and since all available water on the reservation will be needed to move the coal there by pipeline those who might attempt to stay on the reservation land would have to carry water some distance on their backs to irrigate the corn which has been their only excuse me sir, hello? I’m calling Senator Broos for Gov… pardon? Thank you yes as soon as possible he’ll be here for a few more minutes I think yes, goodbye. They say the Senator will call right bacl sir he’s on the floor for a rollcall vote on the arms procurement budg…

— Told him to hold that up till we see where these damn Ray-X projects come out thought they were calling you on this tellything.

— Yes sir this call a minute ago a Colonel Moyst at the designated receiving point in Maine sir, he…

— What the devil’s going on stand here babbling about Indians watering their damn corn got him sent off did they?

— They yes sir at least they claim a successful sendoff at the Texas end but the receiving point is reporting severe difficulties with the reconstituting procedure they fear the, the passenger may have been lost or dissipated in transmission and are requesting someone be sent as a tracer but as yet no one has volun…

— Damn fools like that other project could have proved it with a car horn, couldn’t just string a wire across the line to Arkansas where’s the damn research director ought to send him.

— I’d certainly agree yes sir but it’s too late, he just left the Texas installation by train and is expected at the designated receiving point in about three day…

— Three days by God arms budget be history, these DOD projects both collapse company’s not worth an old shoe anybody fool enough to unload it on be left with these damn fixed price thermocouple contracts in one hand and get hold of Box, get him together with that who the devil general they had on their board there both go down talk to…

— General Haight yes sir but excuse me, I doubt that would work in light of the strong feeling remaining between them over which one stopped General Blaufinger’s advance at Saint Fiacre in the Ardennes offensive of nineteen for…

— Had him up before Broos’ committee with these other damn clowns didn’t they?

— No sir General Haight was permitted to submit an interrogatory he won’t leave his suite at the Waldorf, I understand he refuses to pay his bill there he’s told them to file a claim against the company which contends the hotel invited him as a guest gratis for publicity purposes but he’s begun his memoirs and moved in all his filing cab…

— Damn fool started the run on their stock got all these damn campus activists forcing universities to dump it didn’t he? Showed up down there had them throwing rocks at him wanted the place named after him for some fast depreciation real estate deal they pulled didn’t he?

— As I understand it sir he wanted the university renamed to honor his achievement in the arts in return for a collection of his own paintings, which he presented with extremely high evaluations for tax purposes supported by letters from a correspondence school comparing his brilliance to Norman Rockwell, apparently all the correspondence students got similar letters and of course since the law changed the IRS has flatly disallowed his paintings as…