Jack Be Quick Ch. 03

The seed I planted with Jerry bore fruit. I think "eventually" would be a good adverb - after all, this was a government operation. He made a nuisance of himself for a month, hounding the chain of command to set up a real security operation. Then there were studies to be made, drawings to prepare, specifications to be written, and the project advertised for bids. Contractors were given a month to bid on the work, and it took a month to analyze their bids and award the contract. So the work didn't start until six months after we had our meeting with Jerry, which was funny because doing the work, as extensive as it was, took only a month, from knocking down the first concrete block to sweeping up the last of the dust. During that month we had armed security guards inside and outside the work zone, and at the temporary entry and exit doors.

One whole wall of our project area was demolished, in two installments. First the eastern half was demolished and rebuilt with new in and out doors, and all kinds of improved security stuff incorporated from the get-go, not hung on later. Then the western half, where the old doors were located, was demolished and rebuilt with a safe room in the corner for the security computers. While the demolition was happening they hung plastic sheet from floor to ceiling to protect our working space from the dust and debris, but it was impossible to catch it all and the place was pretty dusty by the time the work was finished.

One interesting and lasting result was that my pay from Gregory Bates suddenly increased from a thousand to two thousand dollars a month. Good old Gregory. I had to laugh, because what I was being rewarded for was real consulting. After being a consultant since Spring Break, I'd finally had my first consultation.