CHAPTER 4
After checking in Laura grabbed a sandwich and ate it as she made her way to the log. It was about three minutes after she arrived there that she saw Karin Phillips approach, she had taken the time to change her clothes and try to freshen up. Still as she walked toward Laura she was wiping the sweat from her neck with a handkerchief with one hand and trying to tuck her hair back into place with her other hand. Laura had to chuckle but worked hard not to let it show.
When Karin Phillips reached the log, Laura chewed her last bite of lunch as she motioned for Karin to have a seat.
Laura watched respectfully as Karin lay her handkerchief down on the log and then sat on it.
"Thank you for meeting with me," Karin started in her very best CEO posture, "I'm learning just how busy you really are while I've been here."
"I'm sorry that I couldn't meet with you when you first called but I was some distance away from here and in the middle of another meeting that was also important." Laura countered. "Are you the first of the board members to come out into the field to roll up your sleeves?"
"Yes I am," Karin answered, "Most of the board think you are asking a bit too much of them but I am beginning to realized just how separated we are from the work that we represent I think I will be able to convince them to do their time with my report at the next board meeting. Are you going to be able to participate in the next meeting?"
"I'm working on it, and I hope so, but at this moment I can't make any real commitment," Laura answered, pleasantly and respectfully. "It is agreed that I have another month to get myself established."
"Yes Of course," Karin responded apologetically. "One thing I've learned in the last few days is how much has to be done. In our world you don't have to build the roads just to get your building materials to the sight"
Laura could see that Karin was truly getting her eyes opened and was even more sure that each of the board members needed to roll up their sleeves in the field, she just hoped that they all wouldn't be trying to do it here on Laura's chosen base.
"That's for sure right now I'm trying to find a communications system in this area that I can connect with but it looks like I may have to have one built before I can set up my own communications office." Laura answered feeling relieved that someone at the corporate office was beginning to understand.
"Are you planning to build it here on the island?" Karin asked with true interest.
"Before I can decide that I still have some technical difficulties to work through, I've got a friend helping me with that now. It's hard to say what's going to happen at this point."
"Before we get too far afield I need to confess that I have an ulterior motive of being here right now," Karin started to inform Laura of her purpose for the meeting. "We were hoping that we could call on one of your other skills to help us with what I believe will be a major fund raiser for the foundation."
"Other skills?" Laura sat up in confusion and slight panic, "What other skills."
Karin Smiled, "After my father passed away several weeks ago it was discovered that he had a small collection of your artwork." Karin reveled, "You are truly a remarkable artist. I've seen some of the diagrams for the equipment that you have designed so I'm not too surprised but I have never seen your other art until after my father passed away."
As Karin continued Laura thought back on the sketches she had sent her grandfather as she listened to Karin's proposal. "There was no mention of them specifically in his will but my sister, Kathryn, feels that if we had an art show and auctioned them off at the end that it would be a very large monetary donation for the foundation. As a family we would like to do that in memory of our father and this wonderful foundation that he started."
Laura stared at Karin in disbelief. The truth, that Karin didn't know, was that her father Martin Mikealson, did not start the Mikealson foundations, Laura did, using the trust fund she received from her father who was killed when the Helicopter he was taking the family for a ride in exploded when an added test engine was incompatible with the original. The only reason Laura survived was because she had an ear infection at the time and was left behind because flying would have been way too painful for her.
Laura herself had started the foundation with the desire to get around the problems similar organizations had that she felt were costing lives. And she did so in honor of her father Mike Mikealson. But after an extended hiatus, to deal with pneumonia contracted after a near drowning, Laura agreed to let her grandfather help with the corporate organization and other business communications and he agreed to let her return to the field work she had grown to love and where she was doing so much good. He also agreed to keep secret that Laura Linstone now Dr. Laura Linstone and LauraLynn Mikealson, his spoiled rotten and believed troublemaking granddaughter were in truth the same person. A secret he took with him to the grave. Well except for the letter and photo chips he gave to Mr. Tracy just before he died.
"I don't understand," Laura spoke, "the only picture I did was the one that was copied for the foundation charter. Anything else I sent to him could only have been charcoal sketches that I wrapped around the equipment deigns I sent in to protect them. They were all on recycled packaging or exam table paper nothing worthy of being framed let alone auctioned off." Laura exclaimed in true surprise.
"You'd be surprised what a good framer can do with material such as that and the fact that they are all on recycled brown paper with all its smoothed out wrinkles just adds to its authenticity and intrigue." Karin continued to sell the idea.
"You can't really believe anyone would pay enough for them to justify the cost of framing do you?" Laura honestly questioned.
"There has already been a six digit offer made for any picture that depicts the Thunderbirds." Karin confirmed.
"How much!" Laura nearly fell off the log she was sitting on. "Did you say six figures? For a single sketch? On crumpled paper? Laura continued to exclaim as Karin just smiled widely and nod her head.
"That would build six hospitals like the one we're assembling here and vaccinate every child with in a hundred miles of each one." Laura continued to exclaim with her eyes so wide in shock that she couldn't see anything that wasn't already in her own mind.
"For a single sketch?" Laura continued after a momentary pause.
"For a single sketch," Karin confirmed grinning at the stunned woman next to her, "And the price could go up significantly if two or more interested bidders go against each other."
"WOW!" Laura exclaimed once again then sat silent contemplating what she had just been told.
"So what is it you want from me?" Laura asked.
"First of all we feel we need your permission to go ahead with our plans." Karin explained.
"Permission? Permission!" Laura was still talking in exclamations, "I thought those things had been tossed in the trash years ago, I don't even remotely remember what they were sketches of. If you think you can do any good at all with them go ahead. Yeah, by all means go right ahead!"
"WOW," Laura rambled on in disbelief, "Six Figures for a crumpled piece of brown paper! Unbelievable."
"We were also hoping," Karin continued, "That you might have more of these sketches stashed away somewhere that you might be willing to donate to the cause. We also wondered if you might be willing to do a few more."
Laura studied the features on Karin Philips face as she contemplated the request being made of her. Six figures, she screamed inside her head again. And silently she listed all the philanthropic good that could be done with the kind of money Karin was talking about. Laura was sure that once she got the nations of the world to form their own committees to solve their own problems the money would go even farther.
"It will take me a couple of days to get back to where my sketches might be stored. I know several of them have been destroyed over the years. I've used several of them to start fires to keep warm and cook over myself." Laura broke her silence. "I really have no idea what I have or what condition they might be in. As far as making more sketches, I've never been one to draw on demand. I kind of have to be in the mood with nothing else pulling at me before I'm able to sketch anything. I've never tried to draw on request. I'm not sure I'd even know what to start with or what to begin drawing. I assume that you would like these new sketches to be on something other than crumpled brown paper. I don't have ready access to more suitable materials."
"Your choice of materials is part of the charm and appeal of your portraits but if you wanted to say use some native materials like paper made from bamboo of other material from areas where you have worked that would be of value also." Karin explained a market and world that Laura really knew nothing of or had any real understanding in. Even her alter ego LauraLynn had an agent that dealt with all of her so called masterpieces.
"There is already a demand for sketches depicting the Thunderbirds," Karin continued. "It is common knowledge that you have worked beside the Thunderbirds on several occasions."
"Had my bacon saved by the Thunderbirds is more like it." Laura cut in, "The closet I've ever come to working beside them is during the terrorist attack in South Africa last year and that was only one injured member of their team so that doesn't even count really."
Laura sighed and looked out at the ocean around them to think for a moment. Finally she turned back to Karin Phillips for more information by which to make a decision on.
"Just how many sketches are you wanting?" Laura asked.
"Well," Karen began, "There are nine that we have found so far among my father's possessions. My Sister Kathryn who is the expert on this kind of thing has suggested twenty to thirty but we will accept all that you're willing to donate. We could always hold a few back and make this an annual auction."
"If you intend to make this an annual event you're going to have to come up with more artists than just me. It would take me several years to complete that many."
Laura looked out at the waves again as she thought. Sketches of the Thunderbirds could be a touchy subject and she wouldn't even think of doing anything that might compromise the security of the Thunderbirds no matter how much money it could bring in for her work. She would have to get her father-in-laws input before she committed to anything.
"I will be visiting the family friend who is temporarily storing my trunks in a day or so depending on how long it takes me to take care of things here." Laura began to state what she was willing to do. "I'll go through my stuff then and see what I can find. As far as any new stuff, I just can't make any promises. I'm not sure I can draw anything right now with trying to get a place to live set up a surgical center and a communications system to be able to participate in board meeting, not to mention all the work I need to do for my new board position. That's going to take several years to get up and running the way it will be most productive. I just don't know if I have it in me to draw. When do you want these by and where and how should I send them?"
Karin and Laura talked for over an hour and decided that it would be best to use the Foundation delivery system to get the drawings back to her and a target date was set for three weeks away so they could get them framed and ready for when Laura was scheduled to make a personal appearance in London for Foundation business.
Laura had to call the meeting with Karin Phillips to an end when it was time to head off for her next meeting with the combined governments for the four islands what would be serviced by the hospital under construction.
As Laura walked the four and a half miles to the meeting sight she looked around to make sure no one could over hear her then picked up her cell phone and called Scott.
"I honey I'm thinking of you," Laura started when Scott picked up the phone. "How's it going?"
"Everything's great here," Scott's smile could be heard through the phone, "We're using the mole to dig the access tunnel through to our new living quarters. We should be through in about an hour then it should only take a week to get our house constructed. Me and the guys are racing to see if we can get it built before you get the Hospital up and running."
"You're going to have to hurry," Laura bantered back, "they're laying in the patient rooms and nurses' station now. They'll be done here in two days then all we have to do is move in the equipment and calibrate before we open our doors for business.
"Sounds like you've already scheduled your first surgery." Scott commented.
"Maybe," Laura admitted, "I'd like to get the guy a little more stable first though so we'll have to see. I've met with several cleft pallet problems on all four of the islands but I'm hoping to get a specialist in here for those. I also hope they will be willing to do some of the other plastic surgery that really needs to be done here."
"When do you think you'll be able to come home?" Scott asked missing his wife.
"Well it better be soon. Karin Phillips has made a proposal that I need to get your Dad to weigh in on." Laura started to inform Scott. She then told him of her meeting and what was asked of her.
"I thought of announcing that I was a newlywed," Laura finished her account of the meeting, "But I didn't dare make an announcement without talking to you first. Things could be a little touchy here."
They agreed that Scott would pick Laura up in the morning and then continued to talk about this and that until Laura arrived at the sight for her next meeting.
Laura's meeting lasted till the wee hours of the morning and was getting nowhere due to interisland politics and commerce conflicts. Laura finally blown a whistle to get everyone's attention then proceeded to tell them what needed to be done for the medical welfare of the four islands and when they had reached an understanding on those matters Laura excused herself telling them to go ahead and fight out the rest of their issues without her.
Rather than walk all the way back to her canvas lean-to Laura made her way to the small air field on the island and stretched out in the tall grass to get a few hours of sleep before the sun rose.