Manufractured - Book 1 of 3

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

An hour later, Gil Robichaud, along with several federal agents, arrived from Washington. A team of government agents was also sent out to Vexton-Tech's plant in the HKM.

"How in the world could you guys have let this happen?" Robichaud almost growled. "A company of your magnitude, how could you not have safeguards in place?"

"I'm totally to blame, Agent Robichaud. I gave too much power to the wrong person. I guess you could say... I lost control," said Gerald, his expression full of remorse.

"This... Goran Rackert, we've put a worldwide APB out on him, and we've frozen all his financial accounts. Do you think anybody else from your company was involved in this?" asked Gil.

"I couldn't tell you. All I know is that Mr. Rackert was really hands-on. When it came to the manufacturing of those robots, he was in complete control," replied Gerald.

"What do you know about this guy?" asked Gil.

"I brought him on board personally; he beat out dozens of people for the position," Gerald said.

"And what was it about him that won you over?"

"He had an impressive resume, but most of all, I thought he was trustworthy." Gerald sighed and shook his head. "I really believed he was dedicated to the company."

"Who supplied Vexton-Tech with metallic compounds?" Gil asked.

"For the Home Servant, the Farmhand, and the Ro-Dog, it was a large HKM company whose name in English translates to Silver Tiger. For the Robo-Chef, we used an American supplier called Winston Metals."

"How did you decide on Silver Tiger as a supplier?"

"Rackert handled that matter on his own. He sent us a report on the company, and Skip and I performed our due diligence and believed all was in order. Their pricing was on par with their competitors, but Goran gave them the edge because of their vast experience and highly regarded product quality."

"Since they were supplying the Andrel 5, there's no doubt they had to have been working with Rackert," Gil concluded.

"Yeah—billing Vexton-Tech for the more expensive material while actually supplying us with Andrel 5, with Goran taking in a sizeable kickback, I'm sure," Skip added.

Opening his flash-pad, Gil called his office in Washington. "Shamir, I want you and the rest of the team to find out everything you can about an HKM company called Silver Tiger Materials."

***

At Vexton-Tech's HKM plant, it was confirmed by the ATSS that only the Robo-Chef was not manufactured using Andrel 5. It didn't matter. All four of these treasured devices, once symbols of luxury, were now regarded as killing machines. A shocked public wanted to know how the government could have let this happen.

In his preliminary review, Attorney General Champ Sutton learned that Goran Rackert had turned the ATSS inspection team away on two separate occasions, claiming the Vexton-Tech plant was in the middle of some kind of crisis. During the first two audits that were performed at the HKM plant, Rackert had insisted on choosing the machines to be inspected himself. ATSS director Rosemary Crisp had personally overseen the next audit herself, stipulating that she expected full cooperation.

As anticipated, after Sutton's review, Westgale addressed his ATSS officials.

"This tragedy took place under our watch. You and me—we failed America. We failed to protect the people we were elected to serve. They're the only reason we're here—at least they should be the only reason we're here! How the hell were toxic robots allowed to be sold in this country? Ten people have already died, and more than 350,000 American lives are at stake because of our incompetence. I don't care how clever this sinister plan may have been, this never should have happened! Just because a product receives initial clearance doesn't mean we don't follow up."