The 'Cousins'

Chapter Ninety-seven (Alpha)

Chapter Ninety Seven (Alpha)

A Bigger Picture.

A/N: If you asked me in what genre The 'Cousins' sits the best answer I could give you would be the description author Dean C Moore gave it in a review on his blog - Fact based Fiction - since the story is based on facts and crosses the boundaries of so many genres.

The facts as told by Wayne Fisher in this chapter are not fiction. I have obtained them from research and although this story is set in 2007, many of these issues have not been resolved to date and are of concern to the whole world - especially those of us who may live in North America. This chapter is meant to make you think as well as to entertain you. Now read on:

The only sounds to be heard in Ma Tooley's little diner were the whirring of the fan, the buzzing of the fluorescent lights and the drumming of rain on the walls and windows. Three pairs of eyes and ears were fixed on Wayne Fisher, who rose slowly from his chair to address them while choosing his words carefully. He stood facing the room with his lips pursed and his arms outstretched with their thumbs uppermost; making little chopping motions in the air as he collected his thoughts.

"I'm only talking Fishers here tonight. And I don't want to say too much at this point. We can talk in more detail tomorrow. Greg has a bundle of other things to do before this night's out. This talk is to give him an introduction to the detailed material I'll give him in a dossier when we're done here. Walt and Ma, you're welcome to listen in, it's not confidential and if you have any observations to make, please feel free to do so."

A vague murmur arose from the trio to augment their nods of assent. Wayne looked at each in turn before continuing his speech.

"We have a long-term plan for Fishers. When I learned Greg was here in the USA and free of all encumbrances I must admit I was overjoyed. Yes Greg, overjoyed, in spite of the hurt and losses you've suffered, because it meant the plan I have for Fishers would work and I'd see it come to fruition. I sat me down there and then and penned a dossier to give you of what we are doing now, before and after the IPO."

Wayne paused to stretch out his hands again making those little chopping motions in the air in front of him once more while he ran through in his head what he wanted to say. Greg had both feet on the floor and leaned towards Wayne, anxious not to miss a syllable of what was to come.

Wayne coughed into his hand, excused himself and continued. "We talked a bit about what Fishers are doing now on the drive over from the airport Greg, but before I get into the detailed plan with you and before you get to read that dossier, you'll first need to understand the basics of the business model we are now engaging in and bringing to the market in the IPO. Things have changed a mite since we started out makin' bio-diesel. We are on the limits of technology with this venture and our continued investment in research and development, along with sales, is essential; and that's mostly where the $100 million from the IPO is committed; concurrent with building our commercial infrastructure..."

Greg interrupted, his tone sharp. "You said earlier you needed $200 million after two years- what's the rest scheduled for?"

Wayne's reply was equally sharp and spoken with growing confidence. "That's not for discussion tonight. Let's stay with the stage we're at right now. Fishers will develop in stages and that'll be the next one after this. For now, I want you to pick up what we're doing at this time so you can concentrate on that without being distracted or confused by our future planned developments. There's just too much happening right now and even after reading the dossier you'll need a lot more information before you can properly take up your post with us and meet up and work with Goldman's to bring in the IPO."