Rick returned to Fing City. He missed his wife and children. When he walked in the door at Ting Gap, his family rushed to greet him. The boys were all over him the instant they saw their father. They squealed with delight at his attentions. The girls were still a little wobbly as they walked toward him. Debbie stood back to watch with pure love on her face. Not only for her kids, but especially for Rick. He had been gone for almost two weeks, and she had really missed her best friend, her lover and her husband. He was the center of her world. Rick had not known just how much he had missed his family until they were right there in front of him. He played with the kids right there on the floor of the foyer. Before he could even get a hug from his wife, the children demanded his attention. After a while, the nannies took the children back up to the third floor playroom. That left just Rick and Debbie facing each other. Rick said "Hello my love. I have missed you!" Debbie flew into

After Li Fan and Alice left on their trip to Bali, Rick sat down with Matthew to have a discussion about his new position. Rick said "Matthew, now that you are taking on a whole lot of new responsibilities, it is not appropriate to continue living in the servant's house. So Debbie and I have come up with a solution. If you are interested, there is a villa on the same street as the Thomas's . It is about the same size, and this one has it's own pool. We think that it would be perfect for you and Brandon. Shall we go look at it later?" Matthew replied "As much as I would like to say yes, I'm not sure that Brandon and I can afford a villa here in Silver Hill. Maybe we should look at the developments close by for something more affordable." Rick chuckled and said "You misunderstand me. I don't expect you to buy the villa, it's a gift from Debbie and me. Just think of it as a sign on bonus for accepting this new job." Matthew was stunned. They are going to give Brandon and me a

By the end of the day, Matthew and Old Wilson had found the new plant manager, all of the deparment heads and even some of the required supervisors. There was a mix of old employees as well as new ones. But there were still lines of people outside the gates of the factory trying to submit applications. Brandon had set up a table by the gate to accept the applications, and told each one that the positions would be filled by the end of the week. He was beginning to see a pattern forming as to who all was applying for work. It was not just the former workers of this plant, but also workers from the nearby factory that had closed about the same time as this one had. There were also farm laborers from the mountains coming in as well. The town of Sunlar was not as big as Tangling, but the factory there was actually bigger. It was a facility that produced various electronic tools, such as electric screwdrivers, drills and impact wrenches. It was a well known brand, and when it closed, it

Matthew said "The three of you have targeted our plant's work force. But that stops today. All of our new hires have agreed to start work tomorrow morning. We should have the production line moving within two weeks. Now, if you have any objections, now is the time to voice them." Mr. West was the chosen spokesman, so he replied "I don't think that you grasp the gravity of your situation. Your 'workers' would not dare show up tomorrow if they know what's good for them and their families. All I'm saying is, no one is allowed to work in this factory without our consent. And as of now, we do not give it. So what are you going to do about it, Mr. Moore?" Matthew responded "So you all are admitting to intimidating our workers? And you are also behind the threats made against their families? Let's just be upfront and honest with each other. Just what is it that you want from us?" Mr. West thought that he had finally got these people right where he wanted them. They looked as thoug

Rick said "Oh, for the most part, things are going well. However, I had an encounter today that I wanted to ask you about." With that said, Rick described what happened in town. He asked George if any of his men had mentioned it to him yet. George replied "In their report last week, they said something about these punks. But I didn't put much stock into it as a security threat. But it seems that I need to take it a bit more seriously now. What are your orders?" Rick said "Just try and find out who their boss is. I've heard that he is from Tangling, and that his arms and chest are covered in tatoos. That's all I know about him at this time. Perhaps we can find out who he is, and get rid of him before he and his gang get to be a real problem. You know little boys group up to be bigger boys, and as such, so do their ambitions. It may be that he is trying to take up where Graham Tory left off." George said "I know what you mean. I'll get my guys right on it. If I have to, I'll