8. Change of Power 3

“I am Capt. Alex Bolton, the General Manager. The management and staff of the Auxiliary Armory PLC are happy to meet you. Convey our greetings to the General. We congratulate him on his well-deserved appointment. We pledge our unflinching support to him to ensure that he moves the company in particular and the nation, forward. Once again, welcome.”  

“Thank you, General Manager. I will convey your message accordingly. Take me to the Chairman's office.”  

“All right, Sergeant. We have a token of appreciation for the Chairman,” the General Manager announced and looked at Laura for her presentation. She stepped forward and presented the gifts. Although they were bought with her fund, the General Manager had hijacked it and made it look like the company's official gift. Nevertheless, she must make it known that it was personal.

“Well …”

The General Manager interrupted her and continued, “On behalf of the Management and Staff of Auxiliary Armory PLC, accept this as a symbol of our love and goodwill.”

George collected the gifts with a smile and appreciated them, “On behalf of the Chairman, Gen. Tim Williams, I accept the gifts. I promise you that it will be delivered accordingly.”

At that point, he turned around and tried to drop them in the car, but the driver who was beside him collected the gifts and left. George faced the General Manager and requested again, “Kindly take me to the Chairman's office. I wish to have a meeting with the management team.”

“Consider it done.”

Now, Laura was momentarily disconcerted. She hated it when she was not controlling a situation. Howbeit, the General Manager led the way and George followed him. Suddenly, he heard the crowd shout, “We love you, Gen. Tim Williams.”

“Oh!” The General Manager and George exclaimed when they remembered that he did not speak with the other staff members and halted. 

“Thank you for your love. The General will be happy to hear that. See you later.”

The crowd dispersed and the befuddled pressmen looked at each other. For the first time, they lacked questions to ask and were lost in what to report.

“Who is Gen. Tim Williams?” A reporter asked a colleague.

“I wish I know. Let's find out. When did he join the military?”

The two colleagues were surprised that his information was classified, just like that of the Head of State and the Second in Command.

“This is serious,” they said hopelessly.

Now, the General Manager led George to the elevator and the eight management staff members followed them. The Accountant was happy that the proper thing was done. Nevertheless, Laura tagged along as the Chairman's Secretary. 

“After you,” the General Manager said when the elevator's door opened and they walked in. Incidentally, the lift could take only nine people and Laura was displaced.

“I will wait,” she announced cheerfully and the gate closed. Soon, they were in the Chairman's office on the tenth floor.

“Here we are,” the General Manager announced and led them to the office. They walked in and headed to the conference table at once. The General Manager ushered him to the Chairman's dedicated seat.

“Thank you for the gesture, Capt. Bolton,” he appreciated him and sat down before they took their seats accordingly. 

“You are welcome. Permit me to introduce the management team to you.”

“That would be great,” he said and turned on his recorder on his device. 

Nevertheless, the General Manager began the introduction, “I have introduced myself before but I will do that again. I am, Capt. Alex Bolton, the General Manager. Sitting beside me is the Chief Accountant. His is by name, Capt. Charles Graham.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain,” George stated.

“Thank you, Sgt. Young,” the Accountant appreciated and the General Manager continued. He was about to introduce the fifth person when Laura walked in and discovered that there was no seat for her. She confidently pulled one of the Chairman's visitors' seats and joined them.

Soon, Capt. Bolton was through with the introduction but did not introduce her. George looked at her before looking at the General Manager for clarification. When he got none, he inquired, “Someone has not been introduced. Is it an oversight?”

“Not at all. I only introduced the management staff members.”

“I am Miss Laura Dickson. The Chairman's Secretary,” she introduced herself. 

George smiled softly and informed her, “I'm pleased to meet you, Miss Dickson. You may wish to know that the meeting is for the management team. Besides, I can record the minutes by myself.”

Now, all eyes were on her and she wished to straighten things out for the small George, “I work for the Chairman.”

“I see. As you can see, the Chairman is unavoidably absent. I beg that you excuse us,” George said dismissively and locked eyes with her. She looked away, looked at the General Manager and his expression was unreadable. After a while, she reluctantly got up, left and they continued with their meetings.

At The Canterbury Defense Academy

Gerald and Samuel were admitted into the school two years ago. They dropped out of their local school during the war and could not resume when it ended. At that time, they were living from hand to mouth. One day, they got admission letters to proceed to the school and they were surprised and happy at the same time. The tuition was high and meant for only the children of the military men. Apart from that, they were to buy books and their equipment for practicals which were expensive for them. However, the school was the best in the country and despite the high fees, admission was very competitive.

“What do we do?” Their hopeless parents who had not bothered to find out the source of the admission, asked.

“There must be a way out,” Tim informed them. 

Straight away, they glared at him and rebuked, “What do you know?”

“He will always poke his nose in matters that are bigger than him," Laura declared angrily. To avoid their insult, he got up and left the parlor.

While the family was in that dilemma, they got letters from the school that everything had been paid for, and they were relieved. Miraculously, they resumed.

After Gerald spoke with his sister the previous night, he was heartbroken. He walked to his brother's hostel and met him in a bad mood.