The cruise up the coast was an eventful one. Stops along the way were in St. Augustine, Florida, Savanah,Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina and Williamsburg, North Carolina. All were delightful cities full of history. Although they didn't stay very long in any one port, they were able to disembark while the yacht was replenished with fuel and provisions. The last stop before New York was at Virginia Beach, Va. It was just a fuel stop, but the group went out to explore the beach themed bars close to the harbor. It was a roit to indulge in an afternoon spent in day drinking and partying with some of the locals. Everyone especially enjoyed Savanah's River Walk, with it's shops and bars. And Charelston's Market. The local handicrafts were very interesting. Brandon and Matthew bought several grass woven baskets that caught their eye, and Debbie found some lovely prints of famous places in the area like Rainbow Row and the Battery. Helen found a beautiful necklace at the market that ha
The limo driver dropped them off in front of the office building. Since there was no where to park in the downtown area, this was a normal occurrence. There were many people passing by on the sidewalks, and seeing a group of people off loading in front of any office was not an abnormal sight. But this group were obviously foriengers, and that did give some of the pedestrians pause. The entourage swept into the lobby of the RBG Shipping office with an air of expectantcy. They knew that they were anticipated, and expected to be welcomed by the staff. However, no one was in sight. Not even a receptionist was on duty at the front desk. Old Wilson and General Han were both puzzled at this. Where were the security guards? Something was definitely off here. At that moment, a young woman came running out of a side door wiping her month of crumbs. She had obviously been eating something. She looked annoyed at having to interupt what ever it was that she had been doing. She blurted o
The Group sat and waited for Mr. Hall to speak. He was sweating profusly by this time. It was obvious to everyone in the room that he had much to answer for. But he did not speak. So everyone waited for news from the other sourses in play. After an hour or so, General Han came back to the office with a preliminary report on the audit. He handed Old Wilson the document and withdrew from the room. As Old Wilson looked it over, his face got darker and darker. He then handed it over to Rick. His reaction was much the same as Old Wilson's. Rick said softly, "It seems, Mr. Hall, that you have been a naughty naughty boy. The preliminary report for the remote audit shows that almost every accounting program on the main server had been altered. It has been programmed to deposit 50% of all incoming funds into an account that is listed in your name. The bank will no doubt verify the deposits shortly. In addition, several other accounts have been connected to these programs to include your
Since Mr. Wang would be coming to this office in a few days, Old Wilson, Rick and General Han would be there to greet him personally. They had time to prepare the scene for Mr. Wang's demise. But first things first. They had to find everyone in the company who had any part in the plot, no matter how small. And they also had to know of anyone who had any knowledge as well, because any leak of the exposure could foil their plan to capture Mr. Wang. If he got even a whiff that things had gone wrong, he may not show up. The general immediately called back to Fing City to have more men sent to New York City. He wanted at least a hundred men in the building at the time of Mr. Wang's arrival. Not knowing if Mr. Wang would have his own security detail, General Han was going to be sure that if he did, the general's forces would be stronger and more numerous. Old Wilson sent the plane back to Fing City to pick up the detail, and that way ensure their safe arrival in just two days. They n
Over the next few days, Mr. Hall was kept under close guard. General Han had made a visit to the local police station, and with an introduction from the Cheif of Police back in Fing City, was met by the Cheif of the precinct. They had a discussion about the situation involving Mr. Wang and what the general had in mind. The Cheif was impressed with the general, and especially his plan. So he agreed to help in any way that he could. After all, he was going to make an arrest at the end of it. And it would be a feather in his cap for apprehending such a criminal. Friday morning came, and all parties were in place. By ten o'clock, everyone was on pins and needles in anticipation. Would Mr. Wang show up or not? That was the question on everyone's mind at that time. In the lobby, the receptionist had been replaced with a plain clothes police woman. She was smart, and new how to remain calm in any situation. She had seen a picture of Mr. Wang taken from security footage on one of his e
Just then, Mr. Wang pushed the alarm button on the side of his phone. It was supposed to alert his men that he was in trouble. However, the alarm sounded like it was coming from just outside the Director's office. Had his men made their way up here already? Then he saw the reason that the sound was so close. The Precinct Cheif walked in holding the three cell phones belonging to Mr. Wang's body guards. When Mr. Wang saw them, he asked "Where did you get those? They belong to my friends! Did you steal them?" "Mr. Wang, I am the Precinct Chief here in Lower Manhattan. Your "friends" are sitting in a jail cell down the street from here, waiting for you to come bail them out. Too bad that that will never happen." Mr. Wang shouted "What do you want from me? I have done nothing wrong! You have no right to keep me here!" The Cheif looked puzzled as he said "Mr. Wang, no one has laid a finger on you. What are you so upset about? Has anyone accused you of any wrong doing? To my
The men that General Han had brought over from Fing City felt a bit anticlimatic after it was all over. They had not had any part in the final action as they had wanted. So as a compensation, the general took them all out on the town to visit the sights. He especially wanted to take them to Ellis Island. It was a formidable location back when America was still young. From 1892 up until 1924, over twelve million immigrants passed through Ellis Island into a new world full of promise and hope. It should be an inspiration to the men to be able to tour it. And then of course to see the Statue of Liberty nearby. Old Wilson arranged coaches to transport all the men. It was no small feat to carry over a hundred men around in New York City. But they were treated to a luxurious ride around town. After the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, it was on to Central Park. The general had them line up on the grassy knolls to run through some exercises, since they had been slacking off since being
They had lucked out in many ways concerning the apartment issue. Rick did indeed own serveral apartment buildings in New York. But the only one suitable for their current needs was in Hell's Kitchen. It was a neighborhood close to the theater district, as well as Time's Square. The location was to the west, down south of Central Park. It had just undergone a massive renovation to bring it up to city codes. The only problem was that is was not furnished. And Larry Watters was no where to be seen. Apartments in the states were not normally furnished. Most Americans owned all of their own household furnishings. So Matthew and Brandon took on the challenge to see what they could do. Brandon called Larry and asked his advice on how to proceed. Larry was a fountain of knowledge on how to buy in bulk. He gave Brandon references into the wholesale markets, enabling him to order anything that they needed. Within three days, the deliveries had started to arrive. Everything from furnitur
It was a sad day for Rick. Today, he was to bury his beloved mentor, Old Wilson. Old Wilson had been frail, and his health had declined slowly. If someone didn't see him every day, they would notice a vast difference . But since Rick would go down to see his old friend regularly, he did not realise just how bad Old Wilson had gotten. It was on such a visit that Rick found Old Wilson sitting in his favorite chair out in his back garden. At first Rick just thought he was asleep, as Old Wilson would nap out there almost every day. But after sitting down beside him, Rick finally realised that Old Wilson had passed on. It broke Rick's heart. Old Wilson had left instructions as to what he wanted done after his death. He asked that Rick bury him next to Ruth, his wife, and their son, Christopher. It was out in the countryside, north of Fing City. Rick had made all of the arrangements, and that morning, he and Debbie headed out. He had made the announcement of Old Wilson's death to the com
After the kidney transplant, Debbie's health improved tremendously. She had regained her strength and stamina to the point that she was able to resume her duties at RBG LLC. Over the years, she had expanded offices in all of the major cities in the south. Every big company clamoured to have RBG LLC handle their accounting needs. It became a status symbol to have Debbie work for them. After such a huge expansion, Debbie and Rick had set their sights in a more global presence. So they started with Cairo, Eygpt. Since Anita had done such a good job organising that pharmaceutical office years ago, it had become the premier branch of RBG Pharmaceuticals. So it was a natural place to start the global expansion of RBG LLC. Rick and Debbie spent several months in Cairo setting up the branch, and even acquired a residence in Eygpt. It was an expansive villa right on the banks of the river Nile. Larry had designed it to reflect the location and local culture. The villa was named 'Alhudu
As time flew by, Lois had been in Jelang and had been doing very well with her shop 'Second Chance'. The local population had, for the most part, forgotten about her sordid past. She was a valued member of the business community. Last yesr, she had been nominated to run for the local Chamber of Commerce Chairman. She was of course flattered to be nominated, but was very surprised when she actually won the position. It was the peak of her life to have been given this post. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever imagine that she would reach such a height in her life. Even though it was just in a small village such as Jelang, the fact that she was overwhelmingly the popular choice humbled her even more. Rick and Debbie both were just so proud of Lois, and even came to her investiture ceremony, along with all of the rest of the Thomas family. Howard had really been putting his all into the Thomas Shelter. Along the way, he met a very nice lady, who had come in for an interview fo
The day dragged on as George frantically looked for his missing man. Since the man had no pockets, he didn't have his cell phone on him. So he could not call the general to tell him what was going on. He had all of his contact numbers in his phone, so he had not bothered to memorize any of them. After a long afternoon of being interrogated by the police, they at last let him make a call. He decided to call the resort, and if nothing else, he could leave a message for his boss. After this was done, the jailer put the man in a cell to wait for further instructions from the police Chief in charge. George finally went to the front desk to ask the desk clerk where the nearest police station was, thinking that it was a place to start looking, and to file a missing person's report. The desk clerk then remembered to give him the message that had come in for him, and it just so happened to be from his missing man. George went and sought out Matthew and Rick to accompany him to the p
After ensuring Su Ma had everything that she needed, the group left to return to the yacht. They were to spend the next few days at sea. Everyone was back on board, then they set off for their next port of call, Manilla, Philippines. It was an exotic port, and nothing like anything any of the group had experienced before. They had a wonderful time seeing all of the sights. Then they set sail for Singapore, Malaysia. This trip was a smorgasbord of many different cultures and sights, not to mention landscapes. Singapore was a bustling city, full of high end shopping centers with branded stores, as well as the local cultural sights. Museums, art galleries and the like. The kids especially liked the Singapore Zoo. It was filled with all of the animals that they had studied in school. The adults were partial to the Singapore Botanical Gardens and the National Orchid Garden. They all enjoyed the trip to China Town. It was a taste of home for them, but in a different way. There was really
The years had flown by. The Greens had expanded their businesses in every direction. The most profitable were the ocean shipping company and the pharmaceuticals. Medical supplies was running a close third. Rick was planning a big suprise for the kids' ninth and tenth birthdays next month. They had grown so much, and still all of them got along so well with each other. Li Fan had gone on to be a managing director of one of Rick's local offices, and he was proud of his work. His son, Ricky, was looking more and more like him every day. Alice was a very good mother. Ricky had grown up with the Green children, and seemed more like one of the siblings, rather than just a cousin. George and Anita's daughter Leah was also part of the "tribe". Since George paid close attention to the security of Ting Gap, Leah had grown up in the house as well. It was an exclusive daycare that Rick and Debbie were proud to provide for the two kids. All of the Green kids were very protective of them
General Han gathered all of the evidence that he had collected and called his friend at the police station. They sent the fraud investigation team over right away to go over the documents. They agreed with George that this was an embezzlement case, cut and dried. After informing Debbie and Rick of their findings, Debbie called a meeting of those involved. The head of personel walked into the conference room, stopped dead in his tracks and turned to flee. He was stopped by the security guards at the door. He was made to sit down and shut his mouth. Next, the other two culprits walked in together, chatting with each other. They sat down across from the upper managment team and waited. George introduced everyone. "Mr. Waits is the head of personel, this is Mr. Floyd, head of accounting, and that is Mr. Grooms, the managing director. Gentlemen, this is Mrs. Green, CEO of RBG LLC. The man next to her is Mr. Green, Chairman and owner of the RBG Group. Then we have Mr. Moore, Vice Pr
The crowd outside the venue were so excited to see their favorite stars and public officals as they arrived at the gala. The men dressed in tuxedos and the beautiful gowns that the women wore were worth standing in the night air to see. All of the attendees made use of a step-and-repeat banner set up for press photos. These glamour shots would been seen all over the media in the coming days. But the most stunning had been Debbie in all of her finery. Her jewels shone like the stars in the heavens. They cast a glow around her like nothing else could. The evening was filled with surprises, and a lot of money was raised for the Green Children's Foundation. Brandon was thrilled with both the turnout and the donations total. It had been a very successful night. The day after the gala, everybody at the Green villa slept in late. They only got up in time for a scumptous brunch prepared by Chef Matthew. It was well worth dragging themselves out of bed for. Then everyone started to get
Once again, the Thomas family came together for a family weekend. The highlight of the weekend was of course the gala for the Green Children's Foundation. Since Jonathan and Betty lived in Beijing, they were to be included in all of the festivities as well. Rick and Debbie loved having their family around them, and this weekend was no exception. Rick and Debbie's Beijing villa was not as big as Ting Gap, but no less opulent. After all, Larry had done the design work and supervised the work himself. It was large enough to hold most everyone coming from out of town. Lois, Rebecca, the Old Thomas', Howard, Heyward and his wife , Aunt Alice and Li Fan and of course Matthew and Brandon. So the Green mansion was full to the brim. Matthew decided to cook on the first night of the gathering. Dinner on that Friday night was a master piece of culinary delights. Matthew rarely got to indulge himself in the kitchen of late, so he went all out to prepare a meal fit for a royal banquet. His dish