Max thanked Lorraine, civilly and told her she could go. He turned to Carl and asked him if there was some way he could screen the old folks a little better so he wasn’t bringing old folks with alzheimers to him. Max said, “I can’t get any answers from them that will do any good at all!”
Carl said, “You know, Max, things might go smoother if we stopped and got some rest. We have worked all through the night and tensions are high since we haven’t gotten much information on the missing old folks.”
Max snarled, “We will rest when we get some leads. Bring me some food!”
Carl wished then that he had gone with Donald and Jim just so he wouldn’t have to deal with Max and his unpleasantries!
While Carl went to get lunch for the men, Max came up with an idea that he thought just might work! He just needed to get all of their cell phone numbers and information on their credit cards and tracing them should be a cinch!
Meanwhile, Ray Moss was reporting in to Bob Perkins, the president of the homeless initiative, about his progress, in looking for a base and a clinic location in Los Angeles. “With your permission and pull, I would like to suggest using Venice Beach for our base, Bob. It could be rent free if you talk with the right people and the constant sweeps do no good in discouraging the homeless from camping there again within days after each sweep. So, since the homeless gravitate toward there anyway, it would actually give us a headstart in that area. What do you think, Bob?”
Bob answered slowly, “I like how you think. We would obviously get objections, as it would take up one of California’s beaches, temporarily. Well, that can’t be helped, let’s get this started! What about your progress in finding a location for the clinic? That is of the utmost importance, Ray. Remember we still need to get the clinic built, after we do locate a place for it.”
Ray said, “We have found a good possibility. There is an old mine for sale up in the mountains . There are no nearby neighbors and it would be easy enough to construct a usable road up there.”
“How much land comes with the mine and is any of it flat? We still have to deal with the recent publicity that circled the globe. I want to do things differently from Portland. I think if we put a swimming pool and a hot tub or two on the land, we can bring all of the homeless people over 55 up here to a ‘resort’. I think taking care of them first, instead of shipping them off to a cruise ship, will prevent having to move the older people twice and will cut our need for cruise ships in half! I say, go for it! Get the contractors started as soon as the deal goes through and give them a week to get the roads finished! How quickly can the contractors get the building built and ready for our homeless seniors?”
Ray said, “I’ll get it all started immediately and send you the estimates within a couple of days.
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Max, excited by his thinking of finding the missing elderly by their cell phones and the GPS, went straight to the purser’s office and demanded to see him. Arnold complied and went to see what Max needed this time. Max asked Arnold, “May I please have a list of all of the missing elderly, their cell phone numbers and their credit card information? I will need it asap!”
Arnold thought for a minute and said, “I will be glad to get you the list of the people and their cell phone numbers, but we don’t have any lists of credit card information. I honestly don’t think any of them have credit cards anymore, because we operate on tokens here on the ship.”
Max felt irate, because he had counted on finding the elderly fast by tracking their spending. He tried not to show his temper, because he really needed the other information from Arnold and he didn’t want to tick him off. He went to his cabin for a nap while Arnold got his information.
“Hello? Is this Karen?” Max asked, calling her the minute Arnold brought the information.
Karen hadn’t been expecting any calls and answered, “Yes, who is this, dahling?”
“I’ll ask the questions. Where are you and how did you get there?” Max asked excitedly. His plan was working! He had reached one of the missing elderly! They had not jumped in the ocean and he was going to find them!
Karen answered, “Alaska,” and realized the minute it came out of her mouth that she had messed up! She quickly hung up the phone and went to find Donald.
Donald, after hearing of Karen’s phone call, got everyone together in the great hall of the lodge for a meeting. “Karen just got a call and they wanted to know where she was. We suspect a government official and that they are trying to find all of you. Has anyone else gotten a suspicious phone call?”
Although no one else had gotten a call from Max yet, Donald asked everyone if they would be willing to turn in their phones to him to destroy so they would not be found by GPS. Everyone eagerly turned their phones over to Donald to protect their safety. Sue asked, “But they know we are in Alaska. They could be here any minute to get us!”
Donald patiently asked her, “How big do you think Alaska is? It is very unlikely they could find us from that information alone.
Max eagerly called Washington and told Bob, “I have found the missing elderly! They are in Alaska and I am going to get them!”
Bob, always the practical one, said, “Do you know where in Alaska they are? Also, how many of them escaped?”
Max said, “No, I don’t know what part of Alaska they are in, but I can call another of their cell phones and get more information. Seventy-eight elderly are up there.”
Bob asked him, “Did you know there are approximately 1,400- 1,500 elderly still on the ships there in Portland? And, the clinic is set up, ready to go? We simply need to get the elderly over to the clinic and take care of business. Do you have any idea of the cost of going up to Alaska to get the 78 people? Think man. A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. We need to get finished with the Portland clinic so that the skeleton crew there can leave for Los Angeles. We need to do this quickly and efficiently before we get any more negative publicity.”
Max felt humiliated and angry. He had been an agent for over 14 years and knew what he was doing. He was not going to put up with Bob emasculating him.