Doc's Place

Chapter 16 | Part 1

Monday, October 15, 1984

Soji and I watch Susan's taillights disappear around the corner as she drives toward the front gate. "Goodbye Susan," I whisper.

"She has helped you," says Soji. "You seem more . . . composed, Jill."

Look at him. "It's obvious?"

He nods. "Lloyd noticed last night too. Ready for therapy?"

Later, Lloyd walks into the study and looks at the papers spread all over my desk. "Morning, boss. Thesis work, I see."

"Yes ma'am."

"So why are you digging in books? Your thesis came from police interviews."

Set down the pen and stretch. "Citing others' research shows how my work extends established work within the discipline."

"I've read a few scholarly pieces. They begin with a lot of references and footnotes."

"Articles in popular magazines use stories to establish background—same idea."

"Ah, you did that in the nickelodeon article you wrote on Friday."

"Capture and hold the interest of the average employee at Doc's," I tell her.

Lloyd thinks about that as I watch her. "Did you dumb it down for them?"

"I wrote to a seventh grade reading level."

"How will that play in a national historical journal?"

"I'll edit it for the reading level of a well-read and perhaps well-traveled reader."

She pauses and looks at me. "How come you're so patient when I interrupt you with stupid questions?"

"I'm not patient and this isn't just about what you want, Lloyd. I want to fund a foundation and I want you to help run it—now."

She watches me calmly. "I'm beginning to understand you, Jill," she says. "You establish Pere to make money, but you're not interested in running it. You want the money so you can fund a foundation, but you're not interested in running that foundation."

"Close enough," I tell her, "but I won't be the only funding source. It will absorb resources from thousands of sources."

"Resources meaning money?"

"As well as local backing with individual effort. Influential women in urban neighborhoods, villages and rural communities will volunteer to do the foundation's work."

"And occasionally pay for it with their lives," says Lloyd.

"What?"

"This is not all sweetness and light, Jill. Some cultures will consider the foundation a direct threat and react aggressively." When I do not respond, she adds, "Local women may get hurt or even killed. You must know that."

"Yes, you're right," I tell her.

She looks at me for a good ten count as I return her gaze. She says, "I do for the foundation what Le does for Pere, don't I?"

"Yes," I tell her. "You'll be president of Aliversal. Le's president of Pere."

"What about Ume? She is more aggressive than Le, yet Le runs Pere."

"What does that tell you?"

"Ume watches out for your interests while Le makes you money at Pere."

"Le reports to Ume, who is also Chairman of the Board of Directors for Pere, Aliversal and for Midori LLC, my international corporation."

"So Ume runs everything." Lloyd twists her mouth as she considers that tidbit of information. "Midori," she says, "that's Japanese."

"Midori corporate headquarters are in Tokyo's Ginza district, but it operates ANZ Fleet Services in Australia and New Zealand too."

"Midori America Bank has a branch here in Reno," says Lloyd. "Is that just coincidence or is that yours as well?"

"The bank is a subsidiary of Midori LLC," I tell her, waiting for the two questions she's bursting to ask.

Lloyd stares at me. "You own a bank? Jesus Christ, Jill. How much are you worth?"

"Couple hundred mill," I tell her.

She blinks and asks, "Why the hell are you working for Doc's Place?" When I don't answer, she says, "Withdraw that question. I answered it a few minutes ago. Besides, I have another one. How have you inspired such loyalty and devotion?"

"By providing freedom to operate," I tell her. "I stay out of your way as much as you let me."

"Once this foundation gets going, can I recruit aggressive executives'people as smart and ruthless as Ume?"

"Mm-hmm. Draft a list of qualifications and run an executive search with Julie and Ume. Choose people you can work with, Lloyd."

"Fair enough," she says, hands on her thighs. "Thanks for the tutorial. Now I got shit to do." Leaning forward, she kisses me on the cheek and stands up. "I'll be back in a bit, boss," she says.

Now, instead of thesis work on my desk, I see security problems. Switch on the handheld tape recorder for my personal notes and begin thinking out loud, speaking rapidly.

Fact: as the foundation begins offering more small-business loans to interested and capable women, news of the foundation's loans will spread throughout the world.

Fact: women who seize the opportunities that the foundation offers will become targets of threats, violence and murder in some cultures. These women need security appropriate to their culture.

Fact: the only security that Ume and I have put together is private—for our neighborhood and my businesses in North America and the Pacific Rim. We base our security on our personal relationship with the dojo master and his staff, who are capable and conscientious. However, security is neither their expertise nor Ume's and mine.

Conclusion: security is inadequate. Hire a security operations chief with two objectives: first, provide security for my executives, businesses, foundation and me; and second, provide security worldwide for women who receive a foundation loan. Hire Tony George away from federal service to build the security operation.

Conclusion: Tell Ume to hire a CEO who will carry her vision into the future. Ume retains her role as board chair; otherwise, she steps back and lets the CEO run everything—including Pere, Aliversal and SIA.

Shut off the recorder and stare at papers on my desk. Suddenly, I remember another paper. Opening the wooden box where I keep business cards, I find the paper that the assassin handed to Soji last week. On the paper is a telephone number. It's local.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

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Doc's Place Chat
© 2008, Michel Grover.
Chapter 16 | Part 1
Early Summer 2009

Lucia :

Mic has posted in the left frame paragraphs from Doc's Place, one of his copyrighted stories. I'm moderating chat here in the right frame. I post every day, but I don't post everything. I have formed a secondary group from which I may also post comments.

Alan :

Back in dp2:3, I brought up that 1985-86 was a big shake-up in the Pere mothership, because the company got a new CEO and a new SIA chief. What we're seeing now, Jill, is that you are beginning the process that will lead to those changes.

Jill :

Definitely, Alan. One of the advantages of owning as much Pere stock as I did, and still do, is that I can make course corrections quickly. In a flash—meaning all at once—I want to change Pere's organization: pull Ume back from the day-to-day tactics so she can focus on strategy and hire a ruthless, efficient security chief to establish Ume's SIA as a worldwide machine. Ume already has a new CEO almost ready to recruit, although at this point in the story I have no idea who that is. Tony knows how to organize SIA worldwide while avoiding the bureaucratic maze that his federal agency had become.

Benny :

A few questions, Jill: Why aren't you intimidated by the formidable task of changing the organization of a 2 hundred million dollar, worldwide business from the top down? Where do you start, what are the priorities and who is the new CEO candidate? Why not just call Ume on vacation and get a few answers?

Amalie :

While you're at it, Jill, I have another question: Why call Alice now? What does she have to do with re-organizing Pere and SIA?

Jill :

Your questions require a little discussion, Amalie, but you should know the answers to yours, Benny.

Benny :

Ah, Ume takes vacation now because she knows the time is ripe for these changes. However, Ume never told you the name of the new CEO candidate.

Jill :

Keep going.

Benny :

Oh, of course. Ume is a master of manipulation. The very act of re-organizing will bring you inevitably to the CEO candidate's name. Who is it?

Jill :

You'll see. Amalie, Benny gave you clues for answering your questions.

Amalie :

I realize that now. Ume set this up so that you would put into action a series of events. She knows your instincts better than you do. You're looking down at your papers but you already told us that you're thinking security, not thesis, now. Ume knows you'll call Alice because Alice is an expert at cracking security.

Jill :

Come on, Amalie, you can do better than that.

Amalie :

Merde, I wish you wouldn't say things like that to me.

Benny :

Think, Amalie. Instead of answering my question about who the new CEO is, Jill handed my question to you. You know who she is. Tell us.

Amalie :

O mon Dieu! Sara, it's you!

Sara :

Mais, oui.

Les :

Holy shit, if Sara's been the CEO for over 20yrs and she's your mentor, Amalie, then she's grooming you to replace her. Congratulations and good freakin' luck, girl. You're going to need it.

Benny :

My oh my, Amalie, what's your reaction to this news?

Benny :

Amalie?

Suze :

Give the girl some space, Benny. She's whacked out of her mind.

Carlo :

There you go again, Jill, giving away the story tension before it happens. Why do you do that?

Jules :

We know the answer to that, Carlo, because we've answered it already. All the tension's over here. We're the message; that over there's just the medium. We're what's happenin', my man.

Lucia :

Another explanation is that if 2 kids—Benny and Amalie—can figure it out before it happens, it's not tension to everyone. Jill might as well give it away so the real tension can develop over here. No one, not even Jill or Mic, knows what will happen over here.

Doug :

What tension do we have over here? Name one thing we don't know and wish we did.

Lucia :

Sometimes you act like such an idiot, Doug. You really should think before you click the send button.

When and why did Jill, Ume and Sara—3 of the richest and most powerful women in the world—pick Amalie to be Sara's heir apparent? Why did these atheists pick a devout Catholic schoolgirl to replace Sara? When will Amalie be ready to assume her duties? What part will we play in her development?

Can you answer any of these questions, Doug? Can you even guess how long it will take us to understand the implications of these discoveries?

Doug :

Okay, I was thinking of facts we haven't discovered, not implications we don't understand.

Minnie :

Expand the scope just a little and things get even more interesting. What plans do Jill, Ume and Sara have for Pere and Aliversal under Amalie's stewardship? Does anyone believe that we know anything about the intentions of these wealthy, scheming women?

Marcus :

Both Lucia and Minnie raise fascinating questions, which raise still more questions. Why did they arrange for Amalie to discover this invitation here in this forum? Does Amalie accept? I think she does, but how is this experience affecting Amalie's personal dreams and philosophy?

How many other children have they discovered? How are they developing these children and what potential do they have?

Alan :

If even some of what Sara, Lizzie and Donna have told us about the organic network they use to facilitate communication or store and retrieve information is true, these women and their network comprise a new order of intelligence. This organic network provides a way to discover and develop human mental abilities far beyond the abilities of today's science and technology to detect, let alone measure and develop.

Maria :

Expand the scope even further and we realize that these women want to bridge the present world with the future world that Avani has shown us back in dpc12.

Benny :

Before we get ahead of ourselves speculating about the future, Mic has loaded us up in this story part with insights into Jill's character, behavior and management style. Remember, she's temporarily running Pere alone, which hasn't happened since she recruited Ume 30yrs ago.

What starts out as an ordinary conversation about editing Doc's Talks becomes a critical turning point for Jill. When Lloyd asks why Jill is patient answering her questions, Jill not only says she's not patient but also says that this is not about what Lloyd wants. It's about what Jill wants, as if she's snapping her fingers to force Lloyd into focusing on the moment. Not only does Lloyd respond, she actually helps Jill to see that she has a major security problem on the horizon.

Minnie :

You're right of course, Benny. Lloyd does help Jill see Aliversal's, and by definition, Pere's global security problem. For all we know, Ume planted that thought in Lloyd's brain knowing Lloyd would bring it up so Jill would initiate action.

Annie :

That is exactly what Ume would do, Minnie. She's certainly capable.

Benny's comments also made me realize that Ume withdraws precisely because Jill can and will act quickly and decisively. To quote Sun Tzu on Force from Sonshi: "Therefore, the force of those skilled in warfare is overwhelming, and their timing precise. Their force is like a drawn crossbow and their timing is like the release of the trigger." Without consulting one another in advance, Ume nevertheless becomes the crossbow, perfectly loaded and aimed, while Jill becomes the pull of the trigger, perfectly timed and executed—a powerful force.

Marcus :

Now wait just a moment, Benny. I agree with the second part of your assertion and with what Minnie and Annie say, but the first part of what you said is wrong, my young friend. True, Jill hasn't presided over her own business for 30yrs, but Pere didn't exist when she recruited Ume in 1972. She didn't even start transferring some of her capital from JP Performance to Japan until around that time. The truth is, Jill has never presided over Pere, let alone a business worth 2 hundred million dollars—ever. Do you not agree, Benny?

Benny :

Yes I do, Marcus. Thank you for pointing out my error. What qualifies Jill for this brief but critically important action then?

Marcus :

What qualifies Jill to decide and act is nothing more than what qualifies her in any critical situation—her clear vision and brash confidence. Put Jill in dangerous circumstances and she looks about calmly, assesses the situation and acts with overwhelming power and surgical precision. In fact, we could say Jill is at her best when things are at their worst and most urgent.

We've seen it repeatedly. Jill handled Mark Tanner along the highway and that football player on the street. The kill at Walter's junkyard and running off the warehouse supervisor don't count because she set them up, but look at her response against those professional hitters in the woods. Surviving Alice's attack took calm assessment and decisive action, even though Jill received injuries. Later in the hospital, she assessed just as calmly and acted just as decisively.

Annie :

It's another setup, but look at her handling of Kerry, especially from Raj's perspective, regarding the upcoming meeting with Morty's managers. Her move is risky, but, as Marcus says, Jill assesses calmly and acts decisively.

Lucia :

Even during those heart-rending moments before Bill learned that his son was fine, Jill reacts with calm assurance, steady as a rock.

Raj :

Jill assesses calmly and acts decisively because she is formless.

Annie :

Well chosen, Raj.

Doug :

What's that mean, formless?

Raj :

Annie quoted Sun Tzu earlier and then described Jill's handling Kerry. From Sonshi on Weakness and Strength, Sun Tzu said, "If you are formless, the most penetrating spies will not be able to discern you, or the wisest counsels will not be able to do calculations against you. With formation, the army achieves victories yet they do not understand how. Everyone knows the formation by which you achieved victory, yet no one knows the formations by which you were able to create victory. Therefore, your strategy for victories in battle is not repetitious, and your formations in response to the enemy are endless."

We see how Jill reacts in crisis but we do not understand how she reacts because she is formless—like water. As Sun Tzu said, "Water's formation adapts to the ground when flowing. So then an army's formation adapts to the enemy to achieve victory."

Doug :

So, how does Jill achieve formlessness, Raj?

Raj :

I do not know but part of the answer may lie in her years of studying Sun Tzu. Remember that in 1984 she has owned the Griffith translation for more than 10yrs. For all we know she may have studied it so thoroughly that she made it part of her thought processes.

Carlo :

You don't believe that, Raj.

Raj :

No, I do not. Jill has probably demonstrated the ability to assess calmly and react decisively from her youth; however, I do not know how she does it. Perhaps it is innate or something she learned from watching others. She is always calm, as though she has all the time in the world, even in a crisis. She also waits until just the right moment and then acts decisively and with overwhelming power.

Lucia :

By the way, Doug, none of us believes that you're actually stupid. You hide behind your seemingly simplistic questions or pretended ennui, but you're really digging for information. We remember our chat back in dpc9:3 when you acted bored to goad Cyril into revealing Jill's experience as a hired government assassin. Do you have anything to say for yourself?

Doug :

Yes. Remember back in dpc4:2, Carlo acted like me and asked a question of the group?

Carlo :

Of course, we got frustrated when Benny wouldn't tell us what Jill was trying to hide from us. We never did figure it out.

Doug :

Well, all I'm saying is that we just did—figure it out, I mean.

Les :

So, what was it? I'm reading dpc4:2 again, but I can't see what it was.

Doug :

Jill and Benny are discussing how he's learning to store and retrieve details in his memory when I ask what they're talking about—acting stupid as I usually do. Amalie reminds me and then I ask her how she remembers things. See what Mic does right there? Benny sees it right away but he won't tell us what it is.

Suze :

Mic, you changed the subject, you devious bastard.

Mic :

I screwed up by posting Doug's question of Amalie. Got busy doing something else and didn't notice that Doug was sneaking up on the issue that we were trying to hide. Jill gave me hell about that one until Ume told us how to distract all of you. It's one reason I'm not administering chat any longer.

Lucia :

Ooh, that was sneaky and nicely done, Doug. My respect for you just went way up, pal.

Doug :

What? I'm not an idiot any longer?

Lucia :

Don't give me that crap, you big baby. I already said that none of us believes that you're actually stupid, didn't I?

Maria :

If you two read your own words, you'll realize that you're attracted to one another.