Omake Chapter: Disunity, Part II
1120hrs, 4 November 2013, Marunouchi, Tokyo, Japan
"Amateurs think that if they were inspired all the time, they could be professionals. Professional know that if they relied on inspiration, they'd be amateurs." Phillip Pullman.
"The hardest thing is to take less when you can get more." Kin Hubbard
It had certainly been a long day for Jadeite. Travelling from India, to China, to Taiwan, to Korea, all in one week was just exhausting. But all those flights had given him time to think. And there was something he needed to tell Beryl after all that thinking.
The shimming towers of the Nakanishi HQ in Tokyo were a welcome relief. It provided a breath of proverbial fresh air that he so desperately needed; it was his home, what he lived and breathed for, and for what he would probably die for.
Not that I need to worry about that now, he thought to himself as he stepped off onto the top floor, where Beryl's office was located. Mind you, she still wasn't actually in charge, but it didn't matter at this point. The CEO was completely coked out of his mind, and so guess who the business of running the company went to?
"Where's Beryl?" Jadeite asked the receptionist at the desk, who was at her computer.
"She's in a meeting with Mr. Yamada," she replied, barely looking up from her facebook page. "She'll be out in a couple minutes."
"Thanks."
Jadeite took a seat in a fancy egg chair, looking out over the Tokyo skyline. It was certainly beautiful, with the oncoming winter chill and the promise of snow in the forecast, it would be even better. He thought that it would probably be a good time to look over his notes in preparation for his proposal with Beryl. He took out his iPad and poked around with it, checking the notepad, and finally getting distracted by a game of Angry Birds.
"Mr. Jadeite." The receptionist's voice snapped him out of the game. He looked up and saw Beryl standing by the receptionist's desk, smiling at Mr. Yamada as he staggered his way toward the elevators, ready to blow the entire afternoon snorting mountains of cocaine.
"Beryl." He stood up and walked over to her, his heels clacking on the marble floor.
"Jadeite. Let's go to my office, shall we?"
She led the way to her office, which was located next to Yamada's spacious and decked out office. But since she was de facto in charge of the corporation, her office was just as tricked out. The cherry-oak doors opened up to reveal a mahogany desk, several bookshelves in the same hardwood as the desk, and several more of those egg chairs scattered around the room. The impressive view of the Tokyo skyline was behind her, adding to the sense of power one got from this woman.
"I'm sorry about calling this meeting, but there's something that I need to discuss with you."
"Well, right to business now, aren't we? Let's get some tea first." She hit the intercom button on her desk. "Hanako, would you kindly bring us some tea? Thank you."
Within seconds, the receptionist barged in, with a tray of green tea and wagashi sweets for the two of them. She gingerly placed it on the desk and started to pour some for Beryl.
"That's okay Hanako, I'll do it. Thank you." The receptionist politely bowed and left, but before she did so, Beryl spoke up.
"Oh, um, I'm not going to be having any appointments for the rest of the day, and Mr. Yamada won't be in too, so why don't you take the rest of the day off?"
It was a nice gesture, mainly because she just didn't want to deal with other people in the office for a second. And the receptionist wasn't going to argue with her, so she left.
"So, now what did you want to discuss with me?" Beryl asked, pouring the tea out for Jadeite. She handed him the cup along with the saucer.
Jadeite took the cup, but did not take a sip until Beryl had filled her cup and started drinking. "Well, it concerns the SAILOR team."
"Mmm-hmm," she replied, putting the cup down. "What about them?"
"I worried."
"So am I. But I think they can be handled."
The nonchalance of Beryl made Jadeite a little bit worried. "Look, that may be so, but I was going to suggest an…insurance policy, so to speak."
Now that got Beryl interested. "What sort of insurance policy?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Jadeite steeled himself for what was to come. "If the SAILOR teams decides to have a change of heart, or finds out about our operations, or does anything to expose the nature of their operations, we need to have something on them that makes them look bad. As in, really, really bad."
"How bad is…'bad'?"
"I'm going to have to make a modification to that target list you gave the PM some time ago. I've been keeping up on the oil pipeline attacks in South Sudan as of late, and I think that it could be of use."
Beryl narrowed her eyes at the COO. "Jadeite, I don't know where this is going, but I don't think it will end well…" Her tone was icy, but she was just calculating the odds.
"Just bear with me, Beryl," Jadeite said. "I'll find some isolated village or something like that on the border with South Sudan/Sudan. I'll upload false target identifiers to the SAILOR team that will designate everyone as a hostile. They will respond with great effect, even if they're reluctant to carry out the act. We will then store this information and if things get out of hand, I'll start sending it out to powerful heads of state so that we can wash our hands of them."
Beryl and Jadeite looked at each for a second, unsure of what to say next.
"Problem," Beryl said, after awhile. "What if the SAILOR team doesn't comply?"
Jadeite didn't seem to be too concerned. "Even if some of the team doesn't go along with it, there are some more ax-crazy ones among them that'll carry out the mission."
That wasn't cutting it for Beryl. "Jadeite, that's too much risk. There's too many factors here, beginning with the way the SAILOR team will react. If they're not going to cooperate with us in the first place, why would they read their target indicators on their HUDs as true, when they know they're giving out false information?"
"Look," Jadeite pleaded. "We need to plan for the long term. The SAILOR team is only good for maybe six months to a year. They can only do so much militarily, and especially after Operation TAKE HOLD. Security will be significantly tighter, and the chances of them wanting to leave or rebel will go up even higher after that."
"Might go higher," Beryl said. "It's not a guarantee."
"Neither is their cooperation. They're getting too smart for their own good. So, we can either take a chance, or we can play it safe. If they want to take us down, then they're going to have to go down as well."
Beryl leaned back in her chair. An insurance policy, hmm?
"Damn." She thought about it some more. It wasn't a great plan, but it was at least something…like one of those life insurance policies you got out of the vending machine at the airport and stuff. It was better than nothing at least.
"Okay," she said. It wasn't' the best course of action, but Jadeite had brought it up, and it was a good point nonetheless. "But you're going to do the setting up, alright?"
He nodded to her. "Certainly. I'll get some of my tech people on it, and then once they're on the mission, make the necessary adjustments."
"I'll call the PM once you're finished with the setup," Beryl said, "And have the SAILOR team sent to…wherever they're needed."
"South Sudan."
Beryl nodded. "Of course. We could always use more business in Africa."
"You sure about that?" Jadeite asked, skeptically. "I don't think there's much there…"
Beryl just glared at him. "Jadeite, there's a huge market in African nations right now. I know you're busy here in Asia, but I've got several contracts open with the governments of Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa at the moment, thanks to Kunzite, and we're slated for more business in Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritius and Botswana."
"After this entire business is over with, I'll be sending you to South Africa," she said, smugly.
Jadeite gulped. Was it a promotion or a punishment…?
"Oh no, it's not a punishment, you'll get your time in Europe or America," Beryl assured, taking another sip of tea. It had gotten slightly lukewarm, but no matter. She poured herself another cup (which was still hot), and took a sweet from the tray.
The look on Jadeite's face pretty much said it all. Instead of going to the more desirable places, he was going to yet another country that most Japanese people didn't know much about other than apartheid and Nelson Mandela.
But Beryl had an explanation on hand for his discomfort. She put her tea cup on the desk and folded her hands.
"Tell me Jadeite, why do you think I am sending you to all these different places?"
Jadeite looked down dejectedly. "Because I've failed the company in some way."
"Not at all."
He looked up in surprise.
"Then why?"
She smiled at him, her perfectly polished teeth glinting in the late morning light.
"You're young, and you need the experience. But, you're incredibly good at what you do, and you're going to be the next big star in this corporation."
That certainly reassured Jadeite, if only a little bit. "What about the others though?"
"What about them?" Beryl replied dismissively. "They're very comfortable in their positions now, but you're the trailblazer. They get to eat your dust while you're up ahead, clearing the path that all others will travel."
It seemed more like flattery than actual genuine praise, but being praised at all from Beryl was something heaven-sent, at least for Jadeite.
"I…thank you. I don't know what else to say," he said to her, taking a small sip of tea. It was cold, unfortunately.
"You don't have to," Beryl said, offering to pour some more tea in his cup. He obliged, and she poured some more into the cup.
"Now, getting back to business about the SAILOR team," she said, putting the teapot back down on the desk. "I'm sure that your plan will be sufficient. I'm putting it in your hands."
"Of course," Jadeite replied. "I won't let you down."
"I know you will. Now, I think that will conclude our little meeting today. I think I might finish up some work here and then get my nails done."
Jadeite nodded, and put his teacup on the desk. "Thank you for listening to my concerns today. I will make sure that everything goes off without a hitch."
Beryl simply nodded, and with that, Jadeite stood up, bowed deeply, and left the room, eager to get started on the "insurance policy".
Beryl watched him leave, then went back to her computer, but instead of actually doing any work, she decided that work could wait, and that some online shopping would be a great stress reliever.
"Mmm, these shoes certainly look very interesting…" she muttered to herself, clicking away at the images that flashed before her on the screen.