~ 25 ~

Thursday, August 21st Victoria, BC

Gloria wondered why Ted was so quiet that morning. ‘Maybe he’s still worried about Wilma’s ability to blow the lid off everything.’ she thought. He had contacted them immediately after Wilma demanded to meet with him, and had later reported that things had been diffused. ‘Even still,’ Gloria knew, ‘the potential remains.’ She carried a tray of bagels and a carafe of hot coffee into the living area where Hank and Elliot sat discussing recent events. Quiet Ted was standing by the windows watching the boats in the harbour below. She sat the tray down in front of the two men. “I hope we can reach an understanding with Miss Thorn,” she said, “to avoid our plans ending before they have a chance to begin.”

Elliot agreed, “I’m sure it will work out fine, as long as you don’t pounce when she first walks through the door.” Laughing, Gloria promised to try and not pounce. “But,” she added, “I would like to be the one to decide if she’ll be part of this – and we may not reveal everything to her right away. Let’s see how she reacts to our idea. If she can handle what’s about to be given her, she may prove to be a valuable member of our team.” They agreed that Gloria would be the one to decide, as if it could have been any other way. She looked over at Ted to see why he was laughing.

At the entrance, David rang the intercom to Gloria’s suite. As he rode the elevator to the top floor, he thought, ‘Man, these folks better have deep pockets.’ Over the last week, at Ted’s instructions, he’d put together the framework – the lists of equipment needed to develop the site for drilling, extraction and processing. He’d brought with him the map-tubes and a briefcase overstuffed with technical documentation and shopping lists with cost projections.

Getting off the elevator, he saw Ted and walked down the hall to the penthouse suite. Setting his baggage down, he turned and was surprised and pleased to see Elliot Stevens. He remembered meeting him on the beach outside of Tofino. ‘Was that just two weeks ago?’ he wondered.

Elliot greeted David warmly. “Hey, good to see you again. I was astonished to learn it was you that had bought the old Taylor place.” He introduced David to Hank and Gloria, and offered him a cup of coffee.

Hank started the meeting: “Before we hear what you have, David, I first want to tell you that Elliot and I have formed a joint partnership to fund the initial development of the site. After small scale production has begun, or after the new government is formed, which ever comes first, the larger extraction process will be funded and developed. I understand that there should be enough for the island’s needs, and enough left over for export. Do you have any figures yet about potential output?”

David told them while it wasn’t possible to calculate the total potential, his initial research indicated that, at minimum, several full scale extraction operations could function for at least one hundred years.

Gloria should have been more prepared. She was sipping her coffee when David revealed the information; she choked and spilled it down her blouse, and the rug, and the sleeve of Hank’s shirt. She quickly excused herself, got a damp towel for Hank, and slipped into her bedroom to change.

David was going over the technical details of the requirements when she returned. She looked sideways at Ted, who was still watching the harbour. ‘At least he’s not laughing this time.’ Actually, Ted was.

Continuing with his report, David outlined his notes from the Cherry Creek site, and how he proposed to begin the drilling process. He stopped when the intercom buzzed, signalling the arrival of Wilma Thorn.

Ted met her at the elevator and escorted her to the penthouse. As Wilma came into the room, Gloria stood back, evaluating every nuance of this attractive woman. Wilma, too, had all her senses on high: She checked her surprise at learning who the “Planners” were.
She started with David. “Oh, hello – I remember you from the New Moon a few weeks ago.”

He blushed and stammered a bit: “Yes, yes, I remember you of course, and how could I forget that pie?”

“Glad you liked it. How did the soil samples turn out?”

David turned even redder. He looked at Ted quickly to see if his carelessness had created a problem. Ted smiled and gave him a nod: It’s okay, relax.

Before David could respond to Wilma, she turned to Hank and Elliot, “Now I know why you two always had your heads together over coffee. All these secret plans.” Before they could respond, Gloria stepped up and introduced herself.

Wilma extended her hand to Gloria, “I’ve been waiting to meet the woman behind this. I’m Wilma Thorn, and I’m delighted to finally get the chance.”

Gloria felt, unless she crumbled in the next round of revelations, Wilma would be a valuable member of the team. Nodding to Hank and Elliot, she communicated her decision.

Wilma saw the signal and understood what it meant. Grabbing the initiative, she began: “Look. We can’t undo the past. You have made lots of mistakes; we have made lots of mistakes. What we need to do is start from here. I’m not sure what form of government you have in mind for this island, but it takes a lot of resources – as I’m sure you know – to support a poverty-level class of citizens. If we’re going to be an active part of this new country – we have to be a contributing part. And I don’t mean just as waiters, cooks and housekeepers. If it’s going to be pretty much the same system as what was in place before – then we’ll take our chances with the Americans. They, at least, have the money to spend, even if it rarely filters down….”

Wilma noticed the gleam in their eyes and let her words stop. She had more to say but decided to wait. Gloria grinned at this brave woman that only wanted her people to survive. Wilma saw the grin and realised they already had something in mind.

Hank began. “The one thing there will not be on this island is any kind of welfare system. Everyone is going to have to support themselves and their families – but this time, there will be a way to do it. There will be plenty of jobs – good paying jobs – and not enough people to fill them. There will be a substantial build program on this island, we will need more skilled labour, tradesmen, foremen and managers than we have. There will be…”

Wilma interrupted. “Build program? You mean you are going to expand the MacDougall empire.”

“Everyone can build their own empire.” He folded his arms across his chest. “There will be opportunities to create new businesses and expand the existing ones like never before. If they work hard enough.”

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. “I know about work. I worked my way through University. I worked and bought the New Moon. You don’t have to tell me about work, Hank. Building empires though, that’s different. You didn’t start with nothing. We would be.”

Gloria stepped into the fray. “Not necessarily.”

Elliot had first suggested it; they had discussed it at length. There was a brief thought to wait until they learned what kind of numbers David's analysis would reveal – but that was dismissed. They all wanted to do this, for their own reasons, whatever the outcome.

Her eyes widened as Gloria told her about their idea. When asked if that might meet with everyone’s approval, she could only nod yes.

Wilma looked over at Ted, who had been silent so far, and asked him. “Can these people do this? Do they have the power?”

Ted looked at her straight on. “They do if the Plan works. If it fails – everything fails.”

Wilma finally sat down, opened her briefcase, took out a notepad and began to write. She started giggling and thought, ‘Oh Harry Thorn, wait until you hear this.’