Message-ID: <48563asstr$1090494603@assm.asstr-mirror.org> X-Mail-Format-Warning: No previous line for continuation: Wed Aug 14 16:30:23 2002Return-Path: <lzalezac@yahoo.com> X-Original-To: ckought69@hotmail.com Delivered-To: ckought69@hotmail.com X-Original-Message-ID: <20040722043051.46873.qmail@web60405.mail.yahoo.com> From: Lazlo Zalezac <lzalezac@yahoo.com> X-ASSTR-Original-Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 21:30:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: {ASSM} JC:Ed Biggers IV-13 (mf mmf ffm ff mm sci-fi) Lines: 678 Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 07:10:03 -0400 Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail Approved: <assm@asstr-mirror.org> Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d X-Archived-At: <URL:http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/Year2004/48563> X-Moderator-Contact: ASSTR ASSM moderation <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> X-Story-Submission: <ckought69@hotmail.com> X-Moderator-ID: dennyw, IceAltar ===== Lazlo Zalezac http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Lazlo_Zalezac http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Lazlo_Zalezac __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail <1st attachment, "biggers4-13.txt" begin> JC: Ed Biggers Part 4: Adjournment Chapter 13 By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004 The bed was typical of all beds in hospitals, adjustable but only to uncomfortable positions. It was morning as Ed sat next to Linda holding her while she proceeded to throw up in a small bucket. Rubbing her back and massaging her neck didn't help her relax. Mornings were the worst for her. In addition to the pains in her abdomen, she suffered from morning sickness. The morning sickness had started the morning after she had slept with John. Dr. Hayes came in the room about the time that Linda had finished throwing up. Sitting on the other side of the bed, he rested his hands on the head of his cane and then rested his head on his hands. Ed looked over at the doctor and asked, "Dr. Hayes, is this normal?" The doctor shook his head and answered, "This is the roughest pregnancy that I've ever seen. The morning sickness is normal, but the muscle spasms aren't." Linda leaned back in the bed as Ed started rubbing her swollen belly with the lotion. A sigh escaped her lips as the sensation of his touch eased the tension in her belly. They both jumped when the baby inside kicked. Linda said, "Quite active, isn't he?" "Is it a he?" "Or she?" replied Linda with a smile. The smile immediately disappeared as another spasm racked her abdomen. Ed frowned since his truth sense couldn't decide which was the correct answer. It took him a minute to realize that she didn't know the gender of the child. Leaning forward, he kissed her head and said, "I love you." "I love you, too," replied Linda amazed at the loving care he was giving her. Dr. Hayes said, "You had better go now if you are going to reach the airport in time." Leaving Linda here was one of the hardest things that Ed had ever done. When he had tried to back out of going, everyone in the family had insisted that he go. Bending down, he kissed her forehead and said, "Don't go anywhere until I get back." She forced a laugh and said, "Get out of here." Ed left the infirmary of the Druid College and headed to the family suite. Ling watched him as he came closer and asked, "Why do you always take the roughest shift?" "I love her." "We all love her, but this is hurting you," replied Ling with tears in her eyes. To see Ed so concerned for Linda was hard to watch. It was even harder when he spent nearly fifteen hours a day next to her doing what ever he could to make her feel more comfortable. "I should cancel my trip." "No. You must leave. I have your stuff in the car and I'm ready to drive you to the airport." Twenty-one comfortable black leather chairs surrounded the conference table, ten along each side and one at the head of the table. The wood of the table shone with an exceptional sheen that suggested its high cost. All of the men and women seated in the chairs were well-dressed and sitting in very dignified manners. The obvious exception was Ed, who slouched in his chair with his legs crossed with the ankle of his right leg resting on his knee. In front of each person, a leather-bound document rested on the table containing the agenda for the meeting and background information about the company. Ed had read it over very carefully. There was no explanation given for the record loses the company was reporting. Mr. Howard Hardgrove, the CEO of the airline sat in his chair like a man that rules the world. Despite the fact that his airline was hemorrhaging money, his position was secure. He owned all of the board members. Every year, he received a good bonus and a golden parachute made if virtually impossible for them to fire him. The only way he would lose is if he resigned and that was never going to happen. The only problem was the presence of the new board member. He stared at the far end of the table at the Druid that a number of stockholders had insisted be given a seat on the board of directors. They hadn't even told him which Druid to put on the board, only that he was to get a Druid. At least he had used the opportunity to get rid of the pain-in-the-ass that used to occupy that chair. Seated in the chair at the far end of the table, Ed listened along with the other members of the board as one of the executives discussed the airlines current financial straits. As part of his presentation, a vice president of the company described how he expected to turn a profit though an advertising campaign offering discount fares, painting the planes in a distinctive color, and increasing frequent flyer reward programs. Details as to the cost and return on the plan were a little sketchy. As everyone nodded in agreement at the plan, Ed snorted in disgust. His reaction caught the attention of Mr. Howard Hardgrove. It was his desire to get them to cut a bonus check for taking such an aggressive action to increase revenues. There was a wonderful little summerhouse that he wanted to buy in Cape Cod. Having a member of the board scoff at the idea was going to make it hard to sell them on the idea. Turning to Ed, he asked, "What do you find so offensive, Dr. Biggers?" Ed leaned forward and said, "Your flights are flying at an eighty- seven percent occupancy, which happens to be near the highest in the industry. Already, you buy back tickets from your customers because of over-booking practices. Selling more tickets isn't going to turn this company around. You have to make money on the tickets you are selling." "So what do you suggest, if you know so much?" asked the CEO rather irritated at the Druid's comment. This was his company until they voted him out or he retired. He didn't appreciate having this Druid shoved down his throat and it was time to put him in his place. Ed had arrived that morning and been admitted to the board less than an hour before. He had very little insight into how the business was run, but the fact sheets that he had read while waiting for the meeting to begin bothered him tremendously. It wasn't so much that they were outright lies, but that they didn't reflect the truth. There was no way to assess the true value of the company. Ed said, "Give me four days of complete access within this company and I will tell you exactly how to turn it around." Howard, voice dripping with sarcasm, said, "It will take you four days to figure out where the bathroom is." "Then I take it your answer is no," replied Ed. "You can present your findings at the next board meeting in three months," replied Howard thinking that this concession would prove to some of the more troublesome stockholders that he had tried to cooperate. By that time, he would find some other mechanism to get rid of this pain in his side. Eyes flashing, Ed stared at the CEO as he said, "The next board meeting is the Stockholders meeting. By that time, this company will have lost a half a billion dollars and will not be able to recover. Six months from now, you'll be filing Chapter 11. Look at the numbers yourself and you'll see that I speak the truth." Howard sat back and said, "My offer stands." With an abruptness that shocked the others in the room, Ed stood and said, "Fine. I resign and shall inform the stockholders that voted me on the board the reason for my resignation." As Ed turned to walk from the room, Howard realized that this man meant business and wasn't here to play games. If the stockholders found out that he had kept Ed from doing what he was brought in to accomplish, then the next stockholders meeting would be a disaster. Thinking hard, he shouted, "Get back here." At the door, Ed turned and said, "Sir, do not waste my time. In less than a year, John Carter and myself developed a plan that brought down organized crime in America during a single day of raids. If my efforts aren't supported by you, then nothing I say or do can help this company." Slumping in his seat, Howard knew that he was defeated. He replied, "Four days, that's all you get." Ed smiled at what he planned for the next meeting and said, "Great. I'll make all of the arrangements and we'll meet in four days from now." Howard frowned at the loss of control over the meeting and said, "We'll adjourn now and meet again in four days." Smiling at the discomfort of the CEO, Ed said, "I expect that you'll introduce me to your executive staff in two hours. I suggest that you tell them that if any of them miss this meeting that you will personally fire them." "You can't be serious!" "Dead serious." His flat voice conveyed the seriousness of his stance. For the next two days, Ed spent twenty hours a day going through various aspects of the business as a plan formed in his mind. Walking through the accounting department, he grabbed accountants left and right telling them to follow him to a conference room. Men and women broke down into tears as he pushed them to limits that they had never expected to encounter. After twelve hours, more people were called into the conference room. These were the individuals that adjusted fares over the course of booking flights. He was relentless in his questioning. With single-minded determination, he sought to understand how every aspect of how fares were computed. These individuals broke down under his constant grilling as he questioned every business practice that they employed in setting fares. Time after time, they had to admit that they had no real data to back up the rules that they followed. The third day was spent constructing a plan to turn the company around financially. Accountants struggled to make sense of the numbers as a clear picture emerged of how the airline would be run in the future. The people in charge of setting up the fare schedule complained that his approach would loose them passengers. He argued back that they could afford to loose the customers that cost them money. As the argument became more heated, Ed realized it was because they were arguing to keep their jobs. A simple compromise was established. After his tenth call from Howard Hardgrove and several attempts to undermine his efforts, Ed used his cell phone to call for reinforcements. The plan that emerged was radical, but had the ability to immediately turn around the company without seriously impacting the majority of people that worked for the firm. There would be some that could be significantly hurt by the changes, but they were the ones most responsible for the problems. A rather tired Ed sat in the first class seat waiting for the other board members to arrive for the remainder of the board meeting. It was the only first class seat in the plane. There were exactly twenty-one seats in the coach area of the plane. He had worked most of the night getting the plane fixed up for the meeting and hoped that his point would be taken by the other members of the board. The board members entered the plane not knowing what to expect. The looks on their faces as they were lead to coach seats were priceless. Ed was enjoying himself tremendously as they tried to fit in the narrow chairs with hard cushions. Once they were seated, the 'fasten seat belt' sign came on. Howard complained bitterly about the seating accommodations. He kept elbowing the man seated next to him and his knees were hitting the chair in front of him. Irritated, he said, "You can't conduct business cooped up like this!" A very pleased Ed took his seat on the back row as a stewardess lowered a screen for his presentation. While she was busy doing that, another stewardess came up the isle with the pushcart offering each person a beverage and a bag of peanuts. Several of the people sitting on the isle complained when the cart hit their elbows. Tempers were approaching the boiling point and they had only been in the chairs for ten minutes. The stewardess reminded each person that they had to fasten their seat belts. Once everyone had been served, Ed said, "Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to coach. I think that we would all agree that it isn't very pleasant. This is the service that you are selling your customers. Lots of comfort for the money, but I'm sure you know that. Oh, wait one minute, you get free first class seats when you fly." Howard shouted, "How dare you!" "With great ease, I assure you," replied Ed as he turned on the projector for the presentation. "The first slide shows the average cost to transport a customer from one point to another via this airline. Of all your costs, only one is really significant. Thirty-five percent of your cost goes into ticket sales and passenger management. That figure is the amount that it costs you to sell a ticket, give tickets away on overbooked flights, and handle seating assignments. It doesn't include advertisement." As people examined the slide, Ed could tell that there weren't any surprises in the figures. In a way, that surprised him, but it didn't slow him down. He flipped up the next slide and said, "For each passenger that you carry, you are loosing an average of three dollars." Howard interrupted, "So tell us something that we don't already know." This was as Ed suspected all along. They knew that they were losing money, but didn't want to change the way they operated to make a profit. With a smile, he threw up another slide and said, "This is how the figures could break down if you go along with the plan that I've developed." There was stunned silence in the plane as people looked at the slide that Ed had put up on the screen. He let them process it for a minute and then said, "Ticket sales and customer management have dropped to one percent of the total cost. Advertising drops to five percent. This is assuming an average occupancy rate of fifty percent for each flight." "Fifty?" "Yes, fifty percent occupancy rate." Howard stuttered as he said, "I notice that the fuel and airplane costs have risen to forty percent." "Yes, that's true," remarked Ed as he looked at the slide. "Fuel is cheap!" On an earlier occasion, he had claimed that fuel was expensive. "The reason the percentage is so high is that we are assuming that fifty percent capacity pays for the entire cost of transportation and services. Ninety percent of each ticket sold above that capacity is pure profit," replied Ed with a smile knowing that he had hit them below the money belt. "How do you expect to achieve this?" asked Howard convinced that this guy had played with the numbers in some funny manner. "Do you want the truth?" The CEO replied, "Of course I want the truth." "The first action is to reduce the cost of ticket sales and customer management. We shall have to adopt a fixed rate pricing and a no refund policy on tickets. Once the seats on a plane are sold out, that's it." "You are suggesting that we stop our current pricing policies?" "Exactly." "Why on earth would you do that?" "Because we want the customers to be willing to pay twenty dollars more for a ticket than the typical discount ticket," replied Ed with a smile. He had been shocked when he looked over the variety of prices paid by customers and the number of people that were flying free. "You're dropping the average price?" "Yes." "How can you do that?" "That is the second action that we need to take. Right now the ratio of salaries between the highest paid person in the company and the lowest paid person is two thousand. That should be lowered to five hundred. Morally, I would say that it should be lowered to twenty because of the poor performance of the company, but I recognize that is not going to happen," replied Ed. The lowest paid person, a janitor, was getting paid twenty thousand per year and the CEO was getting an outrageous forty million after bonuses were taken into account. Howard exploded, "That's absurd. Do you know how much responsibility this job carries with it?" Very amused by the question, Ed said, "Sure, I know how much responsibility your job has. For the past year, this company has lost money and you haven't been able to correct it. I would say that you are failing in your responsibilities and haven't owned up to the failure." One of the other members of the board, an academic from a rather large school of business, asked, "And what is the consequence of that changing that ratio?" "It drops the total labor cost of the company by ten percent," replied Ed. Seeing the looks on the faces of the people around the room, he added, "That is after giving a five percent raise to the lowest paid people in the company. When you add in the overhead and other charges, it turns out to be a significant amount of money." The woman bent down and did some calculations on the numbers. She looked up and asked, "How many people are affected by that?" "One percent of the company would have their wages dropped so that they are under the two thousand rule." She looked up and asked, "Do you mean to tell me that a thousand people in this company make over a million a year?" "Yes," replied Ed. He wondered if the other board members would support him in lowering the wages of the highest paid executives in the company if that was the only change that he proposed. It would actually return the company to a profitable status, but such a move wouldn't last. Looking over at Howard, it was clear that the CEO wasn't about to go for it. After struggling with his seatbelt, Howard stood up in the plane and hit his head on the luggage compartment. They had been there for thirty minutes and he was tired of being shoved into a space that wasn't fit for a dog. Angry at the suggestion, he said, "You have no idea what you are talking about doing to this company! We will loose all of our top executives if we do that." "The downside is?" asked Ed pleasantly. "We can't run the airline without them, you idiot!" "Seems to me that you can't run the airline with them," replied Ed. The woman asked, "What is the third step?" "We reduce the number of seats on the plane by one half. This requires making chairs that are halfway between the current coach seat and a first class seat," replied Ed. "You are reducing the number of passengers in half?" shouted Howard furious at the man. He looked around the room and noticed the people in the chairs thinking about how much more space this would have given them. He could see that they were entertaining the idea put forth by Ed. This airline would become the laughing stock of the entire industry. The other airlines would be getting half of their customers. "You won't have an empty seat on a single plane. Fifty percent of your customers will be pure profit." A number of people started nodding their heads at the idea. Even if his numbers were generous, it still made sense to have a base number of passengers at which every passenger after that meant pure profit. Howard shouted, "The stockholders would never go for it!" Signaling to the stewardess, he let her know that it was time for lunch. He announced, "I have spent twenty dollars per lunch so I hope that you enjoy it. I realize that for many of the people here, a twenty dollar lunch may be a cheap, but for a lot of the people that fly your airline it is an expensive lunch." The stewardess handed out typical airline fare to each person. Without exception, they looked at the meal in disgust wondering how it could possibly cost twenty dollars to provide such low quality food. After eating a bite of the food, Ed remarked, "Perfectly horrible, just like every time that I've flown this airline. I'm going to suggest that we change catering companies or start our own." Howard still hadn't returned to his seat. In a firm voice, the stewardess said, "Sir, the fasten seat belt sign is still on. I'm afraid that you have to return to your seat." Angry, the CEO turned to her and said, "You're fired!" Laughing at the empty threat, Ling answered, "Sorry, but I don't work for you. I'm married to Ed." The look on his face was priceless as Ed and several of the other board members burst out laughing. Glaring at everyone around the room, Howard restated his position, "The stockholders will never go for it." It was time for Ed to provide his coupe de grace. Ed touched a button and the next slide came up on the screen. It showed the projected value of the company over the next year. At the end of the year, they would show a three-dollar a share return on investment. Looking at the mess on his plate, Ed decided that the only thing worth eating was the wilted salad and stale bread. He didn't make a single comment about the value of the company, letting the slide talk for itself. Howard stared at the slide seeing how the initial cost would drive the company into great debt, but that the curve turned upwards very quickly. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he realized there was no way that he could prevent the changes that Ed had proposed. The question now was how could he get out with the most money possible. It was possible that he could strike a deal with Ed to fire him for his golden parachute. Moving very slowly, Howard sat down in his chair wondering what had happened. In four days this guy had totally reinvented the entire corporation. He looked at the food sitting on the tray in front of him and pushed it away. He owned shares in that company and if it lost the contract with the airline, those shares would be worthless. After everyone finished as much of the meal that they could stomach, Ed said, "Would everyone prefer to reconvene in the boardroom in two hours?" The vote was unanimous. As everyone shuffled out, Howard waited to speak with Ed privately. Once everyone had left the plane, he asked, "Ed, could I speak to you for a minute privately?" "Sure, don't mind Ling. She will never say a word," replied Ed. Glancing over at the short oriental woman, Howard wondered why Ed had included her. Rather than argue, he said, "Will you be firing me?" Shaking his head, Ed said, "No. You are going to have to resign if you want to leave the company." "Do you know how much money that will cost me?" "Yes, I do," replied Ed. He had checked out the contract with great attention to detail. He added, "We will keep you under the terms of the contract even if it means that your duties are reduced to that of being a janitor." "You can't do that!" "That's right. I can't, but the stockholders can." Howard looked over at Ed and said, "You're a criminal." Looking down at the floor of the plane, Ed replied, "I'm a criminal? No, I don't think so. Even knowing that this company was going down the tubes, you were milking it for every dollar you could. I don't know if there was anything that you did that was illegal. I'm not going to look into that unless forced." "I own everyone on the board. You are not going to get away with this," declared Howard. Ling smiled as she said, "Didn't you ever hear the saying, don't fuck with a Druid?" Ed put his arm around Ling and walked out of the plane leaving the CEO behind. With a smile, Ling bumped her hip against Ed and said, "That made me horny." Laughing at her obvious pleasure in confrontation, Ed asked, "And where do you suggest that we take care of that problem?" "While you've been sleeping on the floor here, I actually rented a hotel room at the airport here." Twenty minutes later, they were in a hotel room lying naked on the bed in sixty-nine. Ed was busy licking Ling with great pleasure as she finished sucking him to a firm erection. It only took her a minute to disengage and get on all fours as she said, "Fuck me doggy style." Positioning himself behind her, he lined his cock up with her cunt. With a very slow motion, he started to enter her. She wasn't going to have any slow and easy action today. With a grunt, she thrust back taking the full length of his cock in one smooth motion. Getting the hint, Ed started to thrust into her. She shouted, "Harder. Fuck me, harder." Ed increased the pace of his thrusts and was soon slamming into her with great force. She was pushing back to meet his thrusts announcing her excitement with her typical loud screams while his hands were on her hips pulling her into him. It didn't take her long to achieve an orgasm. The speed with which she had come surprised Ed, but he didn't slow his actions. The volume of her orgasm didn't surprise him. Placing a pillow under her stomach, she slowly lowered herself to the bed with her ass raised in the air. Ed adjusted his position so that he could really hammer his steel hard cock into her. Grabbing another pillow, Ling bit into it to keep her screams from echoing throughout the hotel. The first orgasm was just a warm up as far as the volume with which she would announce her pleasure. Even with a corner of the pillow jammed into her mouth, her next orgasm was unmistakable. The muffled scream still echoed around the room. Ed could feel the come boiling in his balls as he approached an orgasm. In an attempt to prolong his performance, he changed his pace. That simple action triggered another orgasm in Ling. As her cunt fluttered around his cock, he spewed forth his fluids deep within her. Sweaty and hot, Ed gently pulled out of her and lay on the bed. It had been too long since he had made love to one of his wives. His concern for Linda had kept him by her side almost all of the time. Turning to face Ling, he kissed her gently and said, "I probably haven't said it as many times as I should, but I love you. I've missed you." "I've missed you, too," answered Ling. She was concerned about Ed and knew that he needed to take care of himself. She knew he loved her, but he was so worried about Linda that everything else was background. After they showered together, Ling sat on the toilet seat and watched as Ed shaved. She had never seen him shave before and commented, "I like watching you shave." "Pardon?" "I like watching you shave." "Why?" asked a very puzzled Ed. "It just seems remarkably intimate to me," answered Ling as she watched him purse his lips to trim under his lips. There was something very intimate and masculine about a man shaving. Almost cutting himself, he stopped shaving to laugh. Shaking his head, he replied, "You can watch me shave anytime you want." "Thanks, I think I will," replied Ling. Ed reached the boardroom on time while Ling stayed behind in the hotel room. Taking the same seat at the end of the table, Ed examined the faces of the people gathered around the conference table. It was clear that the past two hours had been spent doing a lot of arm-twisting. It didn't matter how many arms had been twisted since Ed knew exactly what he was doing. Howard Hardgrove sat at the end of the table glaring at Ed. His attempt to set the IRS on him had backfired when he found out that Ed was a major player in the organization. Inquiries at the FBI had resulted in old contacts hanging up on him after telling him that Ed was a national hero. Attempting to call in political support had exploded in his face when several Senators told him to drop it. It was time for him to try private approaches and that required him to delay the meeting for a little while. Howard opened the meeting when he said, "It is normal in business situations such as this for background investigations to be performed on board members. Ed Biggers, do you have any identification on you?" "Yes, I do," replied Ed with a smile. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his driver's license, his IRS ID, and his CIA ID. Opening them one at a time, he showed them to the people around the room. Several twisted-arms suddenly became untwisted as they realized that Ed could bury them with a simple audit. Howard stared at the IRS badge like it was a cobra. His last attempt to wrest control over Ed had failed and he knew it. He slumped in his chair and said, "Okay. I guess you want us to take a vote on the actions proposed by Dr. Biggers." Everyone around the table nodded, although most of them did not look that excited. The ringing of a cell phone interrupted the silence in the room and brought a look of relief on Howard's face. Ed pulled out his phone and answered it. A smile broke across his face and he started laughing at the news. After a few minutes, he put the cell phone away. Turning to everyone in the room, he said, "My wife was attacked in her hotel room." Howard started at how Ed had taken the news and looked around the table. Covering himself, he asked, "How is she?" "Quite happy. She actually got to seriously hurt a couple of people." The professor from the business school asked, "What happened?" "She neutered one, broke the spine of the other, and broke about ten bones in the third." "That's horrible." Smiling around the table, Ed answered, "She could have feed them their own guns one bullet at a time, but she didn't. I'm rather pleased with the self-restraint that she showed this time." Howard paled. <1st attachment end> ----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------ Notice: This post has been modified from its original format. The post was sent as an email attachment and has been converted by ASSTR ASSM moderation software. ----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------ -- Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated. +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | alt.sex.stories.moderated ------ send stories to: <ckought69@hotmail.com>| | FAQ: <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/faq.html> Moderators: <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |ASSM Archive at <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org> Hosted by <http://www.asstr-mirror.org> | |Discuss this story and others in alt.sex.stories.d; look for subject {ASSD}| +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+