Sunday, August 3rd Victoria, BC
High above the water, Gloria looked out over the inner harbour of the city. She watched the sail boats as they skimmed along the rocky shoreline, headed towards Juan de Fuca, the southern route to the Pacific Ocean.
The tiny speck she had been waiting for appeared; Hank MacDougall’s sea-plane banked around the point and dropped into the glide path of the harbour landing area. Hank loved to fly, and the plane was necessary for him to oversee the MacDougall holdings, scattered throughout the 600-kilometre-long island.
She watched him check the tie-down that held his plane to the dock. Such a wonderful man, she thought. Gloria dearly loved both Hank and Mira; they’d been very supportive when Craig died and had both remained close friends over the years. Mira was an absolute delight, Hank was the rock-solid businessman.
“Elliot, on the other hand,” she laughed, “is our group conscience and resident genius.” Elliot Stevens had called Gloria that morning, and asked her to arrange an emergency meeting of the Chamber.
It had started on a whim, ten years ago. Gloria, Hank and Elliot would get together several times a year and hold their own think-tank sessions, creating different scenarios – all on topics of mutual interest. Politics, environment, economics. They had nick-named their intensive little club of three the ‘Chamber’.
For the last few years, they had focused on events that directly affected Canada and the U.S., especially those that involved increasing American presence in Canada. Though long-established capitalists, each with their own ‘empires’ as Gloria liked to call hers, they were all extremely passionate about the uniqueness of the Canadian way of life. They agreed what a great loss it would be if Canada ‘was’ ever completely assimilated. It had been the thrust of many of their debates.
When the problems in Saskatchewan began dominating the national news, their focus turned to a re-occurring theme: the possibility of statehood. Would that create the door to the rescue resources? What would happen if Saskatchewan left Canada?
Gloria heard the elevator buzz, both Hank and Elliot appeared. “Come in you two. The bar is open; grab me one.” Hank headed for the kitchen while Elliot sat in his favourite chair. She waited until Hank returned and handed them a beer before asking, “Okay Elliot, what’s happened? Did you hear something?”
Elliot Stevens, owner, creator and driving force behind Stevens Engineering, twisted off the cap, took a long drink, leaned back and began. “It’s confirmed. I heard from my contact in Regina. At the close of the Premier’s conference yesterday – Balderson announced, behind closed doors, that he would be formulating the wording on the referendum and, unless there’s a major change in circumstances, he would be making the announcement in about two weeks.”
Hank and Gloria were stunned, but not all that surprised. After a few minutes, she broke the silence. “Well, gentlemen, there is always the Plan.”
They stared at her - was she crazy? Did she really think they could do something of that magnitude?
At their last session, they created an emergency ‘Plan’ in the event Saskatchewan made the decision it was now apparently making. It was a daring plan to save Canada – or rather – a plan to save those things that made Canada great.
Hank said, “Scripting is one thing – but to try and implement this? Are you serious?”
She was. “Hank, there is no harm in trying. Look, almost everything is in place anyway, no one will get hurt. The only risks are financial ones on our part and – those risks aren’t that big if you look at it – and…”
Elliot stopped her. “Gloria, what about the political component? Who do we know for that?”
She answered, “I’ve been thinking about that since we came up with the idea. Do you remember Ted Underwood from the last election?”
Peter Townsend, Gloria’s son, had been the Party Chairman during the election. He had introduced Ted to his mother; Ted had, unintentionally, made quite an impression on her. Peter later confirmed that Theodore Underwood had garnered the influence and trust of the White House in Washington D.C., with connections to Parliament in Ottawa, and, since the election, to the Legislature of British Columbia.
Hank walked to the kitchen and opened another beer. He’d heard of Underwood and had also thought he may be able to handle that part of the Plan when it was first conceived, but hadn’t known that Gloria knew Ted. He looked over at Elliot and saw he was starting to agree with her. ‘Lord help us,’ he thought, and did a quick mental tally of his holdings on the island and mainland. ‘Better hung for a lion than a sheep,’ he decided.
“Do we do this?” Elliot asked. “Is this it?”
After a few moments, Gloria said, “I vote yes.”
Hank, “Yes.”
Elliot, “I agree.”
Gloria walked over to her desk. She pulled a small book from the top right drawer and found the number she’d conveniently acquired during the election. The memory of Ted’s voice returned as the machine started: “Hi, you’ve reached my New York office. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
“Ted, hello. This is Gloria Townsend out in Victoria British Columbia. We met a few years ago during the provincial elections. She thought and willed: Pick up... pick up the phone… "Ted, if you are there I need to... ” Ted picked up. “Hello, Gloria. What a pleasant surprise. How are you, my dear?”
“Fine, just fine. Ted, I need to come straight to the point. We may need your help again. I can’t really go into it over the phone. If there is any way you can give us some time, to come here and take a look at what we need, it would be very much appreciated. Frankly, Ted, you may be one of the few people who could handle this for us.”
“How soon do you need me there?”
“As soon as possible.” She smiled and nodded at Elliot and Hank.
He’d picked up the urgency from more than just her words. He should be able to fly out from Kennedy Airport sometime tomorrow evening, he told her, and would be in Victoria by Tuesday. She gave him her phone number; he said he would call after settling in.
Hank and Elliot were deep in thought by the time Gloria thanked Ted and hung up. She walked back over and sat down. “Ted will tell us if this is even possible. If it is – and, other than the political aspect we know it is – I say it’s a go.”
Elliot went for a beer. ‘This should be interesting,’ he mused. ‘Exactly how does one steal a Mace?’
High above the water, Gloria looked out over the inner harbour of the city. She watched the sail boats as they skimmed along the rocky shoreline, headed towards Juan de Fuca, the southern route to the Pacific Ocean.
The tiny speck she had been waiting for appeared; Hank MacDougall’s sea-plane banked around the point and dropped into the glide path of the harbour landing area. Hank loved to fly, and the plane was necessary for him to oversee the MacDougall holdings, scattered throughout the 600-kilometre-long island.
She watched him check the tie-down that held his plane to the dock. Such a wonderful man, she thought. Gloria dearly loved both Hank and Mira; they’d been very supportive when Craig died and had both remained close friends over the years. Mira was an absolute delight, Hank was the rock-solid businessman.
“Elliot, on the other hand,” she laughed, “is our group conscience and resident genius.” Elliot Stevens had called Gloria that morning, and asked her to arrange an emergency meeting of the Chamber.
It had started on a whim, ten years ago. Gloria, Hank and Elliot would get together several times a year and hold their own think-tank sessions, creating different scenarios – all on topics of mutual interest. Politics, environment, economics. They had nick-named their intensive little club of three the ‘Chamber’.
For the last few years, they had focused on events that directly affected Canada and the U.S., especially those that involved increasing American presence in Canada. Though long-established capitalists, each with their own ‘empires’ as Gloria liked to call hers, they were all extremely passionate about the uniqueness of the Canadian way of life. They agreed what a great loss it would be if Canada ‘was’ ever completely assimilated. It had been the thrust of many of their debates.
When the problems in Saskatchewan began dominating the national news, their focus turned to a re-occurring theme: the possibility of statehood. Would that create the door to the rescue resources? What would happen if Saskatchewan left Canada?
Gloria heard the elevator buzz, both Hank and Elliot appeared. “Come in you two. The bar is open; grab me one.” Hank headed for the kitchen while Elliot sat in his favourite chair. She waited until Hank returned and handed them a beer before asking, “Okay Elliot, what’s happened? Did you hear something?”
Elliot Stevens, owner, creator and driving force behind Stevens Engineering, twisted off the cap, took a long drink, leaned back and began. “It’s confirmed. I heard from my contact in Regina. At the close of the Premier’s conference yesterday – Balderson announced, behind closed doors, that he would be formulating the wording on the referendum and, unless there’s a major change in circumstances, he would be making the announcement in about two weeks.”
Hank and Gloria were stunned, but not all that surprised. After a few minutes, she broke the silence. “Well, gentlemen, there is always the Plan.”
They stared at her - was she crazy? Did she really think they could do something of that magnitude?
At their last session, they created an emergency ‘Plan’ in the event Saskatchewan made the decision it was now apparently making. It was a daring plan to save Canada – or rather – a plan to save those things that made Canada great.
Hank said, “Scripting is one thing – but to try and implement this? Are you serious?”
She was. “Hank, there is no harm in trying. Look, almost everything is in place anyway, no one will get hurt. The only risks are financial ones on our part and – those risks aren’t that big if you look at it – and…”
Elliot stopped her. “Gloria, what about the political component? Who do we know for that?”
She answered, “I’ve been thinking about that since we came up with the idea. Do you remember Ted Underwood from the last election?”
Peter Townsend, Gloria’s son, had been the Party Chairman during the election. He had introduced Ted to his mother; Ted had, unintentionally, made quite an impression on her. Peter later confirmed that Theodore Underwood had garnered the influence and trust of the White House in Washington D.C., with connections to Parliament in Ottawa, and, since the election, to the Legislature of British Columbia.
Hank walked to the kitchen and opened another beer. He’d heard of Underwood and had also thought he may be able to handle that part of the Plan when it was first conceived, but hadn’t known that Gloria knew Ted. He looked over at Elliot and saw he was starting to agree with her. ‘Lord help us,’ he thought, and did a quick mental tally of his holdings on the island and mainland. ‘Better hung for a lion than a sheep,’ he decided.
“Do we do this?” Elliot asked. “Is this it?”
After a few moments, Gloria said, “I vote yes.”
Hank, “Yes.”
Elliot, “I agree.”
Gloria walked over to her desk. She pulled a small book from the top right drawer and found the number she’d conveniently acquired during the election. The memory of Ted’s voice returned as the machine started: “Hi, you’ve reached my New York office. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
“Ted, hello. This is Gloria Townsend out in Victoria British Columbia. We met a few years ago during the provincial elections. She thought and willed: Pick up... pick up the phone… "Ted, if you are there I need to... ” Ted picked up. “Hello, Gloria. What a pleasant surprise. How are you, my dear?”
“Fine, just fine. Ted, I need to come straight to the point. We may need your help again. I can’t really go into it over the phone. If there is any way you can give us some time, to come here and take a look at what we need, it would be very much appreciated. Frankly, Ted, you may be one of the few people who could handle this for us.”
“How soon do you need me there?”
“As soon as possible.” She smiled and nodded at Elliot and Hank.
He’d picked up the urgency from more than just her words. He should be able to fly out from Kennedy Airport sometime tomorrow evening, he told her, and would be in Victoria by Tuesday. She gave him her phone number; he said he would call after settling in.
Hank and Elliot were deep in thought by the time Gloria thanked Ted and hung up. She walked back over and sat down. “Ted will tell us if this is even possible. If it is – and, other than the political aspect we know it is – I say it’s a go.”
Elliot went for a beer. ‘This should be interesting,’ he mused. ‘Exactly how does one steal a Mace?’
