to tell you... that one is a stunner to me. It seems like things have just fallen into place and continued to build with no end in sight. Most days I don't know what it is I am doing, but the people around me seem to, so I just continue on, stepping in whatever direction feels right at the time."
"And if you are worried about how you fit in with all that I have told to you then I will hit you with this, I want you to be our eyes and ears on the Grid. Start shell companies, hire snoops and I will give you a budget that you could only dream of. And that ship you wanted... I'll be asking Gy to make you one that is similar to this."
"You will be getting a new tittle to go with your new job. You are now Vice President of Martool Mining and Commodities Company. You will receive a fat salary and a pension plan. Your job will be to nose into every detail of the politics of the Grid. If Michael Felix sneezes I want to know about it. I plan on starting to move a lot of commodities through the Grid and spending a lot of credits to line the pockets of politicians."
"If we find a sleeze-bag in office I want to get him or her on the payroll and start having them vote our way. I know it's a tall order I am throwing out there to you Doris. But I have every confidence in your ability to make it happen. You will have the full support of our team behind you to assist in any decision making. If we can pull this off right, Michael Felix will be in "our" pocket!"
Doris's eyes lit up with the thought. "Hmm. That would almost make it all worthwhile just on its own. I used to daydream of having such power over him. Might be nice to one day be pulling his strings!" She stuck out her hand for a shake to seal the deal, "If you think we can do this, then I am all in!"
I continued to fill Doris in on our plans for the Grid. Upon our return she would have a new mission. Her efforts would be put towards the hiring of workers who would in turn be given the job of finding and hiring investigators. The investigators would then be given the task of digging up whatever dirt they could on Grid politicians and federal workers. Any advantage that could be gained by the leverage of knowledge was an advantage that we wanted.
On Defiant, we had several traders who had been moving our ore. I would assign one of those traders the task of being Doris' right hand man. It would be his job to work with her to move as much of our commodities through the Grid as possible. We would need cover for the money that was to be thrown at politicians.
When we arrived back at the Grid Doris immediately went to work on hiring in people she trusted. Shell companies would be formed and investigators brought in. Doris would be speaking to the investigators in private. Only she would know their assignments and whatever reports they delivered to her workers would be delivered sealed and passed along to Doris through a deliveryman of her choosing. It was all designed to give that extra layer of deniability.
After leaving Doris to her new work, I made my way to Jasper's. I had hopes of bumping into Ashley Elizabeth. A warrant for my arrest was still active, but for some reason I was no longer in fear of being caught. I had a well-established identity to fall back on as Rex Bumbalee. My only weaknesses were my fingerprints and DNA, both of which were on file.
The fingerprints could be changed and I had been in discussions with George on doing just that, but the DNA identification was permanent. If Doris was successful in her mission I hoped to have the warrant withdrawn and the charges dropped. Until that time came I would only need to watch where I placed my hands.
As I sat in Jasper's, I saw several of the older pilots I had previously worked with. I bought them a round of drinks as they had no idea of my prior identity. They quickly opened up about Michael Felix and the hardships his control had brought with it. If you weren't playing by his rules you weren't playing at all.
One of
"And if you are worried about how you fit in with all that I have told to you then I will hit you with this, I want you to be our eyes and ears on the Grid. Start shell companies, hire snoops and I will give you a budget that you could only dream of. And that ship you wanted... I'll be asking Gy to make you one that is similar to this."
"You will be getting a new tittle to go with your new job. You are now Vice President of Martool Mining and Commodities Company. You will receive a fat salary and a pension plan. Your job will be to nose into every detail of the politics of the Grid. If Michael Felix sneezes I want to know about it. I plan on starting to move a lot of commodities through the Grid and spending a lot of credits to line the pockets of politicians."
"If we find a sleeze-bag in office I want to get him or her on the payroll and start having them vote our way. I know it's a tall order I am throwing out there to you Doris. But I have every confidence in your ability to make it happen. You will have the full support of our team behind you to assist in any decision making. If we can pull this off right, Michael Felix will be in "our" pocket!"
Doris's eyes lit up with the thought. "Hmm. That would almost make it all worthwhile just on its own. I used to daydream of having such power over him. Might be nice to one day be pulling his strings!" She stuck out her hand for a shake to seal the deal, "If you think we can do this, then I am all in!"
I continued to fill Doris in on our plans for the Grid. Upon our return she would have a new mission. Her efforts would be put towards the hiring of workers who would in turn be given the job of finding and hiring investigators. The investigators would then be given the task of digging up whatever dirt they could on Grid politicians and federal workers. Any advantage that could be gained by the leverage of knowledge was an advantage that we wanted.
On Defiant, we had several traders who had been moving our ore. I would assign one of those traders the task of being Doris' right hand man. It would be his job to work with her to move as much of our commodities through the Grid as possible. We would need cover for the money that was to be thrown at politicians.
When we arrived back at the Grid Doris immediately went to work on hiring in people she trusted. Shell companies would be formed and investigators brought in. Doris would be speaking to the investigators in private. Only she would know their assignments and whatever reports they delivered to her workers would be delivered sealed and passed along to Doris through a deliveryman of her choosing. It was all designed to give that extra layer of deniability.
After leaving Doris to her new work, I made my way to Jasper's. I had hopes of bumping into Ashley Elizabeth. A warrant for my arrest was still active, but for some reason I was no longer in fear of being caught. I had a well-established identity to fall back on as Rex Bumbalee. My only weaknesses were my fingerprints and DNA, both of which were on file.
The fingerprints could be changed and I had been in discussions with George on doing just that, but the DNA identification was permanent. If Doris was successful in her mission I hoped to have the warrant withdrawn and the charges dropped. Until that time came I would only need to watch where I placed my hands.
As I sat in Jasper's, I saw several of the older pilots I had previously worked with. I bought them a round of drinks as they had no idea of my prior identity. They quickly opened up about Michael Felix and the hardships his control had brought with it. If you weren't playing by his rules you weren't playing at all.
One of
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