miraculously help you out. This board is Triple E. You signed on with a venture company hoping to strike it rich. Well, a venture is like a marriage: for better or worse. You can’t just expect to reap the profits in the good times and wig out in the bad. We have a responsibility — to each other and to the company.”
That silenced the table for a moment, until Thurman spoke again. “We could put all the animals down quietly and move on. But,” he flipped the projector back to the pie chart, “we have 128 specimens that are healthy as far as we know. Twenty-two of them in Sector C. And many of the others that are affected are only showing mild symptoms right now. That’s a lot of money still on the table.” He advanced the slide and $35M popped up in bold red. “That’s a minimum. Seed money for starting over, if we can collect it. And here’s how we’re going to do that.
“We’ll hold a megahunt in six weeks. Invite all our former clients — only people who have hunted here before so we’re not exposing anyone who hasn’t theoretically already been exposed. We’ll schedule hunts over two weeks, and provide special rates for Sector C animals that are more obviously afflicted. Open it up to clients who wouldn’t normally qualify. Call it a 5-Year Anniversary Mega-Special or some such and make it more attractive by highlighting that it’s exclusively for past clients. Helen, I’ll leave the promotions up to you. Work out special packages, once-in-a-lifetime type deals. And be sure to let them know it’s their last opportunity before we close the gates for an unspecified time while we retool.”
“Maybe a spoof on those going-out-of-business , selling-to-the-bare-walls commercials?” Helen was already working the details. “We could even ship out the invitations with a new rifle. Something in the two to three thousand dollar range, maybe, assuming a good discount on 50 or 60 decent guns. What’s the budget?”
Thurman smiled. “For this one, whatever you need. We want enough paying clients coming through our gates that we won’t have to put a single reasonably healthy animal down ourselves.”
“Wow — more than 130 animals in two weeks. That’s a lot of taxidermy work. Experienced people, storage, shipping …” As asset manager, Ilaria Zicaro would have to hustle to line up the suppliers necessary. “Not to mention confidentiality arrangements. And what about museum space?”
“Speaking of,” David Margolis said, “what about the museum?”
“Fair questions,” Thurman acknowledged. “And they segue right into our final announcement. Our plans to take the company public in the next six months have, obviously, been deep-sixed. With GenRep and Clonco hot on our heels, and other research teams we undoubtedly don’t even know about closing in, we can’t afford to stay under the radar for the time it will take to rebuild. We have to put our stamp on history now.”
A murmur ran around the table of executives in anticipation of Thurman’s next words.
“Most of you already know we’ve been looking for suitable real estate near Orlando for the past few months. That search, today, has been accelerated. If we can’t take the company public in six months, we will by God, take the museum to the public by then. By the end of the year, everyone will know what we’ve done. You’ll all be celebrities — that hasn’t changed. Assuming you can all stay on task till then. ” He looked pointedly at Chloe, who sat in uncomfortable silence, tempted by the same promises of recognition and money that had lured her to Triple E in the first place and no longer sure how she should be feeling toward the company now.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Thurman said, “we have a hunt to organize.”
CHAPTER 11
MIKE SHAFER STARED AT THE prominent spike on his monitor. Regional admissions to emergency rooms in the central northern
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