The 'Cousins'

Part Eight-Three : A Pivotal Point for Greg!

   A Pivotal Point for Greg:

  An ever-lowering sky of black, nimbus rain clouds charging in from the West drove away the remaining daylight as Greg and Wayne turned onto the westbound carriageway of the I-80.   Wayne screwed up his face with misgiving as he leaned forward to look through the windscreen at the dark and menacing tendrils spiralling down from the base of the clouds like celestial fingers, extending towards them as if to hook them personally. Wayne shuddered.

  “Looks like we’re in for a soak.” He announced and sat back in his seat, just as the cloud delivered its content in an apparent solid sheet of water that bounced off the bonnet and cab with a loud, metallic drumming. 

  High spirits prevailed in the cab in spite of the inclement weather and there was no evident residue of Wayne’s earlier despair. 

  Wayne jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Anything back there likely to spoil in this,” he asked with concern, flicking a finger forwards to indicate the rain? 

  Greg's dour reply was not what he expected. “Mostly it’ll be OK, there’re some things I’d prefer not to get wet, but we can’t do anything about it just yet. ...So tell me, ...how come you moved from cooking oil conversion into all sorts of other things?”

  Wayne slapped his knee and spoke with a quaver of emotion in his voice. “That’s all down to Phil Strong. He’s quite a guy; much like you, but technical. Phil had just finished working on a research project up at Delaware University about raising energy from animal waste.  At the time we were working flat out every day just collecting enough cooking oil to feed the conversion plant I’d set up to make a living. 

  Phil put it to me that cooking oil conversion was only a tiny part of what was possible and real money could be made from other forms of energy recovery; and the time was right to get into it in a big way.”

  Wayne had played the part of the hard, unflinching businessman to Greg up to that point, but deep inside the pressures of his own business immaturity made him wish it were otherwise. When he had overheard Greg’s phone conversation and learned the man was as business sharp as ever, Wayne's sense of relief was enormous.

  To the accompaniment of the purr of the engine, harmonically mixed in discord with the metronomic clatter of the screen wipers and drumming of the rain on the cab roof, Wayne delivered a full background summary of the development of his business. His release from anxiety showed by talking in a torrent of joined up words.

  Greg listened intently, staring ahead and asked pertinent questions during those brief moments when Wayne paused to take breath.

  Greg felt the buzz of business challenge returning as his interest quickened by what he was hearing. He readily perceived the enormous opportunities existing in the deluge of information cascading from Wayne. 

   He also learned that the business Greg had originally set up for Wayne had changed considerably.  Philip Strong had given the company a new vision; one embracing greater challenges with ever higher targets and Fisher’s had flourished. The man intrigued Greg and he interrupted Wayne’s flow, “Tell me about Philip Strong”

  Greg sensed, rather than saw Wayne’s shrug as he calmed down to best frame his reply. “Nothing much to tell really. He’s a graduate research scientist who’s passionate about recovering energy from waste matter. That’s about it.”

  Greg took a hand from the wheel to clench it and pummel the steering wheel in impatience.

  “But there are dozens like that. Every university has them in abundance and that’s where you find they tend to stay. They don’t usually come out into the marketplace and involve themselves in business. What happened to make this Philip Strong character give up on the cloistered academic life?  Did they kick him out of Delaware U.”