The following is a work of gay fiction. If the subject matter is offensive to you or you are too young, please exit. This work is the property of the author and may not be reproduced without his permission. John Tucker JETjt@aol.com
EMPIRE
Chapter Twenty-nine
Ron's office, Monday noon meeting
"Al Quaida?" Matt asked in astonishment.
"That's what he said," Tyler replied. "I'm not sure what he knows yet, but we're having a meeting right away. Wes said he'd stop in here when everyone was about ready."
"Do you think we're a target?" Dan asked.
"I have no idea," Tyler admitted. "It could be that they're here training for somewhere else, but if I were to speculate, I'd say there was a good chance. Las Vegas is very visible worldwide and a major hit would have disastrous effects on our local economy."
"I'm sure that's true," Ron added. " It will take Wes a few minutes to get here. Maybe we could get any other items on the agenda while we're waiting, although I think we're about done unless someone has something else. If not, let's take a short break."
Chairs slid back and Matt headed for Ron's private restroom while Margaret excused herself to go to her office and check for messages. Ron moved to the small bar offering refreshments to the others. After retrieving the requested soft drinks from the small refrigerator, he returned to the conference table to distribute them. The door to the restroom opened and Matt emerged, heading back to join the others.
"Did you want something to drink?" Ron asked his partner.
"No, I'm okay, Ron."
Margaret returned to Ron's office with several papers in her hand. Placing most of them in the center of Ron's desk, she kept one that she set in front of Ron.
"You'll want to see this one," she advised her boss.
Ron picked it up and quickly read it. Everyone's eyes turned to Ron so he began to read aloud.
"`Ron, Dave and I are in a bit of a bind. We're unhappy with the contractor who built our last plant as it was over budget and a month over the contract period. We have two factory buildings in California that we are ready to start construction. Would Turner Construction be able to jump on these? We are under a great deal of pressure to get these constructed for Lundborg-Rush. Time, of course, is critical. We have three others, in various locations that we need to have constructed too. Our budgets for each facility average about $80 million. We have several additional projects on the boards and would like to talk to you about them too. Eric Lundborg. P.S. Thanks again for your hospitality this past week'."
"That's great news!" Will remarked.
"Yes, I agree," Ron said. "Would you call Darryl at Turner Construction Will? I want to know if we can do this before I return Eric's call. I'd like to meet with the Turner Team in 20 minutes."
"Sure Ron," Will said as he stood and moved to Ron's desk. Punching in the phone number of Darryl Samson, the President of Turner Construction, he relayed Ron's message.
"Done deal," He said a moment later, returning to the table.
The door to the office again opened and Wes Harper stepped into the room.
"Come in Wes and take a seat," requested Ron.
After Wes did as bid, Tyler said. "I've given the others your message. What do we know?"
"Not much, I'm afraid," Wes admitted. "Jerry Atwell at Homeland Security called on the scrambled line they set up in our office. He said that an informant had told them that a cell of operatives was being sent here. The informant was reliable so Jerry decided to inform us as well as the local office of the FBI."
"Do they have any idea about the target?" Matt asked.
"No. They are beefing up the security though at both Federal Buildings and at Lake Mead."
"Is Lake Mead vulnerable?" questioned Dan.
"It's not likely, though the Feds are taking no chances," Tyler reported. "The water level is about 70 feet below normal. Even if they were to attempt to destroy the dam, it's probably 150 feet thick of solid concrete at the current water level. It's nearly 700 feet thick at the base. It would take a semi-truck full of explosives placed inside the dam to create a breach at the water level. Unless it were placed where it could cause failure of the dam only a small bit of water would spill over the breach. That is unlikely to happen."
"What about poisoning the Lake with bacteria?" Matt asked.
"That's a possibility," Tyler surmised. "It's unlikely too, even though Lake Mead supplies water to both Las Vegas and communities downstream, including Los Angeles. The Lake itself is huge and the water relatively sterile, and rather cold except very near the surface. It is not likely that a virus or bacteria could survive long enough to poison the water supply unless it were done near the inlet where Las Vegas taps its supply. I'm sure that the inlet area will be guarded though it isn't at present."
"Doesn't Nellis Air Force Base have nuclear weapons?" Matt persisted, looking for other targets.
"Most likely," answered Tyler. "Nevertheless, it is well guarded, and has been on a high state of alert ever since 9/11. Nuclear bombs take special detonators to set them off, but they are stored at a completely different location than the bombs themselves. It would take a coordinated attack and a great deal of inside knowledge to locate the bombs and the detonators, and put them together, then transport them away from their storage site to where their power would be effective. It would take a small army with excellent intelligence to pull something like that off. It's practically impossible that it could be done otherwise."
"You think that the target would be a casino then?" Ron asked.
"That makes the most sense. Even though casinos have excellent security, there are so many people visiting them that one or more would be the easiest of the major targets to hit," Wes reported. "Because of that, Homeland Security has created an association of casino Security Chiefs in order to instantly communicate with them. Jerry Atwell is calling a meeting this Friday in order to put them on heightened alert. The casinos have been categorized too in order to concentrate extra precautions at the most likely targets. The new Wynn resort is a target because it's the newest and by far the most expensive of all the strip hotels, costing around $2.5 billion. MGM Grand is a high possibility too because it's the world's second largest hotel with around 5000 rooms. Another possibility is the Stratosphere Tower. It is the tallest structure in the western United States. The list goes on and on, but it's likely that an attack would have less psychological impact if it were carried out against one of the less notable hotels."
"What do they want Aztec-Turner to do to help?"
"It's unclear at present," Wes stated. "We've been asked to meet with the FBI and other agencies on Wednesday of this week. Even though our local staff is less than 100 people, many of them have law enforcement training including the conducting of investigations. I'd be surprised if we are asked to play security officers. My guess is that we'll be included in the investigation aspects."
"We may need to staff up here, if the human resource demands are high," Ron hypothesized.
"That's a real possibility and a good observation," Tyler replied. "We'll look at availability of moving people here from other offices if necessary. Wes, let's be ready for that scenario.
"Okay boss," Wes responded. "Is there anything else?"
"No. That's it,' Tyler said. "Where is our meeting set up?"
"In our conference room," answered Wes.
"I'll be right there," Tyler promised.
"Fine, then please excuse me," Wes said as he arose from his chair
"Thanks Wes," Ron said in dismissal. "Keep up the good work."
"Thank you sir," Wes said as he pulled open the door and paused saying "Goodbye" before passing through the opening. The door softly latched as it closed.
"Looks like you've got a new challenge," Ron said looking at Tyler.
"Yes, and from the looks of things it will be pretty time consuming for awhile."
"Then I suggest we get with it," Ron commanded. "This meeting is closed."
-
-
- Tuesday Morning 7:45 AM, The RET office building.
-
Nathan and Carl followed Ron into the parking garage and parked their Honda where he indicated. They hopped out and crossed the partially full underground space heading toward the elevator where Ron had parked in his private spot next to the stairway and elevator that led to the offices above. Nathan was dressed in Docker slacks with leather loafers on his feet and a shirt with a button-down collar. In contrast, Carl was dressed in Levis, wore a tee shirt covered by a light jacket, and wore work boots that Parker had taken him to purchase the day before.
"Come along boys," Ron said. "Matt's already here, Nathan, so we'll stop by first at his office and he can fill you in on what you'll be doing. Then Carl, after we drop off Nathan I'll take you over to the Turner Construction office. You guys both filled out your paperwork last Friday, so you'll probably go right to work."
"Where am I going to be working?" Carl asked.
"Probably at the Thornton Center. That's where Pete Siegler, your boss, is working temporarily. You'll have to drive the Honda over there."
"Okay," Carl replied. "Should I pick up Nathan after work?"
"Probably not," Ron replied. "The construction guys start at 7 o'clock in the winter and 6 in the summer. At this time of year you'll get off work at 3:30, but Nathan will work from 8 to 5. He can ride back and forth with one of us, or if we're all out of town, he can drive the jeep."
"That sucks," Carl replied. "I was hoping Nate and I could work the same hours and ride together."
"That's life in the big city," Ron said with a grin.
8:15 Matt's office
Ron and Carl had departed after bringing Nathan into Matt's office.
"As we discussed yesterday," Matt began, "You'll be working with George Bowles, the new Director of our Arts Project. He should be in his office by now."
"How many people work on the Arts Project?" Nathan asked.
"At the moment just three, George, you, and George's secretary Darlene Black. There will be three other men who will head up the different divisions. They should all be here within a week or two."
"What will we be doing?" Nathan queried.
"The Arts Project is brand new. You'll get an opportunity to help George develop the organization from the ground up. I don't know exactly what your job duties will be. I guess it will be whatever George wants you to do."
"I'll try my hardest for him," Nathan promised.
"That pleases me," Matt replied with a smile. "Now, let's go see George."
9 AM, Thornton Center job site
Carl pulled his car into the parking lot at the Thornton Center and parked. Getting out he looked around at the trim campus looking for signs of construction. In a back corner he saw an area that was not landscaped and a pickup there where two young guys were loading a trailer. Deciding that it must be where he was to report to work, he headed that way. Approaching the two young men who appeared not that much older than him, he spoke up.
"I'm looking for Pete Siegler."
"I'm Pete," the handsome lighter skinned young man said, halting his work. "You must be Carl."
"Yes," Carl replied. "I was told to report to you."
"I was expecting you. Did you get all your paperwork done at the office?"
"Yes sir," answered Carl. "I went in early."
"Can the `sir' stuff. Just call me Pete. Carl, this is David," he said, introducing his companion. "We'll all be working together."
"Nice to meet you David."
"Same here," the darker skinned young man said with only a hint of a welcome smile.
"We're clearing out all this construction stuff and taking it to our yard," Pete explained. "Whatever is not salvageable goes into that construction dumpster over there," he said pointing out the large orange container. "I have some gloves in my pickup that I brought for you to use."
"Thanks. What is this vacant land going to be used for?" Carl asked.
"Originally it was going to be just landscaped," Pete answered. "I hear that now we're going to build a large picnic gazebo here with concrete tables, sort of like in a park. We're also going to build some bathrooms for use in the picnic area and playing fields over there. Terry is going to let me be the superintendent on it since it's so small."
"Are we going to build it ourselves?" Carl asked.
"Heck no!" Pete exclaimed, then explained, "First we have to get the permit, and then we can start the work. A surveyor will come out next and stake out the building locations, then a grading subcontractor will come and form the pad under the buildings. Next the concrete guy will come and dig the footings and form up for the concrete slabs. The plumber comes next. He'll put in the underground sewer pipes for the bathroom and run water to the building. After we get it all inspected, the concrete guy will pour the slab. There is already power nearby that we ran for the construction trailer that used to be here. We'll run it to the bathroom building, which also has a maintenance shed and walled-in maintenance yard. We'll run power from the electrical panel over later to the gazebo for lighting. The buildings will be concrete block that is colored to match the other buildings here at Thornton. The bathrooms are pretty plain since they will be used for outdoor activities. After the concrete is poured, the masonry sub will come and build the block walls, then the steel roof structures will be installed. The electrician will then come and put in the electrical service panel and the lights. We'll install the doors and toilet partitions, and the plumber will put in the sinks and toilets. The landscapers will come last, then we'll be done."
"Wow!" You sure know a lot about this stuff for a young guy," Carl said in awe.
"I learned it all by doing what you'll be doing: the grunt work," Pete said smiling. "There's really not enough work here to keep us all busy, so we'll mostly be working on other jobs. We'll just come over here when we need to."
"I don't know much about building," Carl admitted, "but I'll work hard, and am willing to learn if you'll just show me what to do."
"You can count on it," Pete said. "David here is new too. He's been with us only a week, and he already is a big help."
"I'm sure I'll enjoy working with you guys," Carl said with conviction.
-
-
- Ron & Matt's home.
-
Zack rolled over in the comfortable bed and stretched. He couldn't remember when he'd slept so well. Looking around the room, the events of the previous day came running through his mind. He remembered how he was being beaten-up by the three homophobes, then the rescue by two of the cutest guys he'd ever seen. Even though he was still sore from the beating, he began to think that had it not been for the altercation, he'd still be on the street scratching for an existence. On being rescued, not only from the thugs but from the cops as well, the two rescuers had brought him to their home. Home! Wow! It was difficult to think of this place as a house; it is more like a palace! After meeting Mr. and Mrs. Parker, who insisted on being called Parker' and Mary', he met Ronnie and Jerry when they came home from school. They were the neatest guys, just a little younger than he, as he was younger than Nathan and Carl. He also met Douglas who was his age and had been born a cripple. It was hard to tell now though, as he walked naturally without even a limp.
The biggest surprise came later when the `Dads' got home. There were four of them. Ron and his partner Matt, and Ron's brother Tyler and his partner Dan. They were absolute knockouts! Zack almost sprouted a woody on the spot. This place was full of surprises. It was unbelievable how nice everyone was. The younger guys treated him like a long-lost brother, and the older men treated him like a son, a new member of the family. He now had his own room and everything.
Before dinner time the detective who had released him to Ron's care arrived. After drinks he interviewed Zack. Zack decided to press charges against the young men who had attacked him, and gave the officer enough sketchy information about himself that charges would be pressed. At dinner the men again asked him about his background, but he'd clammed up and didn't tell them much. After some gentle prodding, the guy Ron said that they could let it slide for now, but it was something that would be discussed later. Zack was relieved, since talking about his history brought back the anger, shame and degradation that he'd felt during those former times. He didn't want to go back. He wondered to himself how he could get the men to let him stay permanently. Nathan had explained that his going home with them was not a permanent invitation to stay, but that he shouldn't worry because the guy named Ron wouldn't let anything bad happen to him.
Seeing that it was almost 10 o'clock in the morning, he remembered that he'd been told to sleep in as everyone except for Parker and Mary would either be in school or at work. Stretching, he decided to take a shower. He found clothing that had been left for his use since the few things he owned were worn, torn and dirty. He felt sure that they had come from Ronnie who was about his size, as had the pajamas that now tented outward from his morning woody. Fully erect he stumbled sleepily toward his morning shower.
Fifteen minutes later he opened the door from his suite and headed toward the breakfast room. On entering, he found Mary busy making cookies.
"Good morning Zack," she said cheerily.
"Morning Mary," he replied. "Is everyone gone?"
"Yes, they've been gone for hours. What would you like for breakfast?"
"Uh... well... don't go to any trouble. I could just have a piece of bread and maybe some milk, if it's alright."
"Fiddlesticks," Mary replied. "A growing boy needs a good breakfast. I'll just get you some juice for starters, then I'll have you something whipped up in a jiffy. Just sit down on one of those stools at the bar counter there and we can chat while I'm cooking. Do you like ham and eggs?"
"Yes Ma'am, but you don't have to go to all that work. Anything will do."
"Maybe you don't like my cooking," Mary taunted. "Wasn't dinner last night to your liking?"
"Oh yes! It was wonderful! I haven't had anything that good in so long I can't remember it."
"Then you'll like my breakfasts too. After all, it's what I get paid to do. You wouldn't want me to lose my job, would you?"
"Oh no!" Zack exclaimed, taking the threat to Mary's job seriously. "I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you."
"Good then," Mary said, satisfied. "We need to get you fed so that you will have strength for your trip."
"Trip?" Zack said with alarm. "Where am I going?"
"Shopping with my husband, Parker. It's his job to see that everyone has decent clothing. He loves doing it too. You are in for a real experience."
"But... I don't have money for new clothes," Zack argued. "I can barely earn enough to buy discards from Goodwill when my clothes are tattered."
"You don't worry about that," Mary said with a smile. Then she stepped over toward the bar, put her hand to her mouth as if to hide from others what she was about to divulge. "I hate to tell you this," she said in a loud whisper, "but Mr. Ron is loaded. He'd be real upset if one of his boys ran around in rags."
Zack grinned at Mary's secret'. You would have to be dumber than a stump not to figure that out,' he thought to himself. He'd just go with the flow. So far everything was better than wonderful. Zack knew better though. Nobody he knew had ever treated him so nice without wanting something. He really wanted to ask one of the boys, but they were gone, so he decided to ask Mary before he got himself in too deep.
"Uh, Mary?"
"Yes Zack, what is it?"
"Uh... what am I supposed to do?"
"Well," she replied. "I think that, except for shopping, Mr. Ron and Mr. Matt thought you should just take it easy today. You can go outside and explore if you want to. The grounds are very nice, and the pool is heated. Parker will get you a swimming suit or two on your shopping trip. You could try that, or you could just try some of the games in the game room."
"Uh,... no, I didn't mean that. Everybody is so nice to me here. What am I supposed to do to pay them back? I mean.....uh...I don't have anything but my body to offer, and I know that Mr. Ron and Mr. Matt are gay like me."
Mary immediately understood and was shocked but was turned away from the youth so he couldn't see her surprise.
Composing herself and then picking up the plate that she had piled high with eggs, ham, hash browns and toast, she carried the offering to the youth and placed it in front of him. He didn't pick up the fork that accompanied the fare as he waited for her answer.
"Zack.... son," she began. "I want to tell you about Mr. Ron and Mr. Matt. You're right about them being gay. What you seem to have missed is that they love each other and are totally faithful to each other. The other boys are like sons to them, and, in fact, they have adopted Ronnie, just like Tyler and Dan have adopted Jerry. I know they are planning on adopting Douglas and maybe later Nathan and Carl too. Those men are the best-hearted guys you'll ever meet. They just want to help you. It gives them pleasure to raise boys that they can be proud of."
"But they don't know about me," Zack argued.
"Do you think you're the only boy here who's had a rough life? Sometime ask the boys. You'll find out that you're the rule, not the exception. If you do though, you'd better be willing to tell them about yourself. I'm sure that their memories are as painful for them as yours are for you. You can't ask them to share, unless you're willing to also."
"It's a lot for me to think about," Zack admitted. "It's just hard to believe that everybody here is so willing to give without wanting anything."
"We all want the best for you," Mary explained. "It may be hard to believe, but it's true. Now, eat your breakfast before it gets cold."
"Thanks Mary," Zack said gratefully. "It sure smells good. Thanks for talking to me too."
"Anytime son, anytime."
Meanwhile, in Ron's office at the RET office complex
The door opened to Ron's office and Matt entered. He saw Ron working on a stack of papers that constituted the average morning's routine. Ron looked up as he saw his lover approach.
"Thanks for coming over Matt," Ron began " As you know yesterday I called back Eric Lundborg about the construction jobs. We asked him to give us the timing, scope and size of his projects so that we could be sure that we could handle the load. An hour later, he faxed over several pages of information. The Construction guys stayed late last night analyzing the work and the sequences. I just had a meeting with Darryl, the President of Turner Construction. He tells me that it's doable, even though we'll have to do some additional hiring. I thought I'd call Eric back and give him our answer, but I also thought you might want to be a part of it."
"Sure Babe," Matt said with a gleam in his eyes. "I don't know much about construction, but I'm here to give you immoral support."
"Between us Poops, there is no such thing as immoral. Our love for each other is as moral and as pure as it can be. I do appreciate your support and involvement though in our business dealings. I want you to be involved with all our companies, not just the Trusts part. I know you don't have too much time, but over the past months you've learned a lot."
"I'm still learning too," Matt agreed.
"We both are, and always will be," Ron stated. "When you stop learning, you die."
Ron picked up the phone, asking Margaret to get Eric Lundborg on the line. A few moments later Ron's phone rang. Ron punched the button for the speakerphone.
"Hi Eric," Ron began.
"Hi Ron."
"I just wanted to tell you that we want to take a crack at your jobs. I'm sure you'll find that we're very competitive in price, and I'll personally guarantee that we'll be on time as long as the construction period is reasonable."
"That's great Ron. We are really in a pinch, but we pay well for expedited work." Eric replied. "When can we get a team here to get going?"
"We'll be ready anytime you are," Ron replied.
"How about this afternoon?" Eric asked.
"I have a team ready to fly to California now," Ron stated. "When and where do you want to meet?"
"We're at the Metalco complex," Eric stated. "I'll be here today and tomorrow, but the following day I'll be up in the bay area on our project up there."
"I'll have a team in your office no later than 1 PM today," Ron promised. "They are standing by waiting for my word. By the way, how is your project going up North?"
"It's going great. It's too bad that you aren't in the site development business. We have a huge amount of business up there that I'd sure like to send your way."
"We do that too," Ron explained. "Mostly for Turner Construction, it's work associated with buildings we construct, but I'm sure that Tegano Constructors could handle it."
"You want to give the work to another company?" Eric asked in surprise.
"We're buying Tegano Constructors," Ron explained. "Tony and Jake are more interested in their other businesses and expanding their youth camps than in being distracted by the demands of a company like Tegano that needs our help, as it's not been performing up to its usually high standards. Tony offered it to us and unless there is a hitch, we're buying it."
"When do you think you'll be in control?" Eric inquired.
"I'm not sure," admitted Ron. "I have a team of specialists there now analyzing the situation I should have a good feel for it in two or three days."
"You let us know what your capabilities are," Eric continued. "We're constantly building. If you can get these first buildings out of the way for us and can handle the work we'll give it all to you. We're developing the residential stuff in the Bay Area ourselves but all the commercial work is yours if you want it. We have more land to develop than we know what to do with. Your help would be truly appreciated. We have so many things going at once it would be nice not to have to worry about that side of our business."
"We're at your service," Ron committed.
"And don't worry about the money either," Eric said. "We'll pay for anything you need up front. We don't blow money and we expect quality, but we're not stingy. Now, when can you and Matt come for a visit?"
"Name the date," Ron answered.
"Would this weekend be acceptable?"
Matt looked at Ron and nodded.
"Yes," Ron replied. "Matt's here with me."
"Bring Tyler and Dan if you can too."
"I doubt that they can make it," Ron guessed. "They're moving into their new house this week, and I'm sure it will take all weekend to get settled. I'll be glad to ask them though."
"We'll make reservations for you in one of our hotels as our guests. Can we expect you on Friday?"
"Sure, we can be at the hotel by 5 PM."
"We'll be by to pick you up at 6 if you'll accept our invitation to dinner."
"We'd like that," Ron accepted.
"It will be casual, and bring your swim suits. It's still warm enough to swim."
"Will do."
"Have your office call mine, if Tyler and Dan can come. We'll take care of the hotel and send a driver to pick you up at the airport. Just let us know your arrival time." "Thanks Eric. Give our best to Dave."
"Matt, next time don't be so wordy," Eric kidded.
"If that's the way you want it," Matt kidded back. "Bye."
"Bye guys," Eric said before the phone line went dead.
"Wow!" Ron exclaimed. "Those guys move fast."
"I'll say," agreed Matt. "Can you really get his jobs done on time?"
"Sure, if the time frames are reasonable. We have some really good people."
"I'm sure that every day counts with them."
"Damn, I wish the Whiz Kids would call. I know that they haven't had much time, but this thing with Lundborg-Rush puts a different light on things."
"You want to call them?" Matt asked.
"I guess I'd better," Ron quickly agreed.
As he reached for the phone, it rang.
"Yes Margaret," Ron said after again pushing the speakerphone button.
"Jeff Davis and Phil Thompson are on the line," she announced.
"I was just about to call them. Thanks."
Ron pushed the blinking light on his phone connecting him to the two Whiz Kids.
"Hey guys," Ron said cheerfully. "I was picking up the phone to call you. How are things looking?"
"Not as good as we'd like," Jeff revealed. "It looks like there's a kick-back scheme embroiled here. We can't prove it yet, but we think we know who's doing it, and how it's being done."
"What's the damage?" Ron asked.
"It looks like about $100 million a year in kickbacks," Phil contributed.
"That would explain part of Tegano's poor performance the last few years." Ron commented. "I was studying their financials and it looks to me like there's another $100 million or so that they should be making too." "Agreed," Phil said. "A great deal of it we believe from digging into their costs, is just lack of control. For example, Tegano paid $30 million last year in liquidated damages on projects they built. There were a lot of cost over-runs too. We think it's just sloppy construction practices. That happens often when there are kickbacks happening."
"I still want to buy Tegano," Ron said. "We can clean house as long as there are no hidden losses."
"You could cover that in your purchase agreement with Tony and Jake," Jeff suggested.
"If I thought that Tony and Jake were the culprits, I'd write a contract that would nail them to the wall, but knowing them, I'm sure that they're the one's who are being robbed. Here's what I want to do. We'll write a purchase contract limiting our losses to an amount we can stand, just in case the books are cooked. It won't be so much that it will hurt Tony, and will still give us a bargain, even if it's not quite as good as we hoped. We'll try to make up our losses by cleaning house."
"What about the perpetrators of the kickback?" Jeff asked.
"I want nothing to change or reveal that we're `on to them'," Ron replied. "I'm going to talk to Tyler about sending a team of investigators there. One or more we may wish to disguise as accountants. I'll let you know as soon as I discuss this with Tyler."
"Sure Ron. We'll keep on working and wait for your call," advised Phil "As you said, it looks like a good deal, if there are not too many rotten apples."
"Goodbye guys," Ron said to end the call.
"Goodbye," they both said at the same time.
Ron hung up the phone and looked at Matt who was displaying a puzzling facial expression.
"What?" Ron asked.
"I don't understand what's going on," Matt said explaining his strange continence. "For instance, what are `liquidated damages?"
"It's a penalty for when a contractor doesn't finish a project on time."
"Okay, that makes sense. What's a kick-back?"
"Usually a kick-back is the buying of a subcontract.' A subcontractor secretly pays off whoever the decision maker is, a sum of cash in order to get the contract. Then later the decision maker approves a change order for something that was purposely forgotten' in the contract, so that the subcontractor ends up making the amount of his original bid. The General Contractor ends up eating the extra for the `mistake' and makes less money."
"What about the sloppy costs that you were talking about?"
"When a subcontractor has the decision maker in his pocket, he can do as he wants on the job with impunity. If the subcontractor shows up late or with less people than he's supposed to the Superintendent has no control, because if he complains to the decision maker, the decision maker will support the subcontractor who paid him off. The job loses control and costs skyrocket. Often these losses due to bad job administration exceed the amount lost in the kickback part of the scheme."
"That's terrible!" Matt said with surprise. "What can we do?"'
"The best thing to do is to conduct an undercover investigation and gather proof that the guy is robbing you. The payoffs are almost always in cash and almost never declared as income. If you can prove that it's happening and ascertain the amount of the losses, the file can be turned over to IRS. It's difficult to hide that amount of income, especially in cash. If the case is properly evidenced, IRS will send the perpetrators to jail for income tax evasion."
"Can the money be recovered?" Matt asked.
"Not usually, but sometimes," Ron replied. "The important thing is to stop the bleeding. ...That said, let's go see if Dr. Tyler is available yet."
"I'm with you Babe," Matt replied as he followed Ron out of the office.