Chapter 38 - No Nonsense.
Leo Cardinal, Percie Hibiscal, and Fragrance Optimus were sitting around a small table inside the employee lounge, preparing for the upcoming meeting.
Leo Cardinal said, "So, Miss Optimus..."
Before he could continue, Fragrance Optimus smiled and said, "I apologize for interrupting you, Sir, but you can address me as Fragrance or Frag. This Miss Optimus feels a bit too uptight to me unless I am against the opponent in court or a formal setting. I think here we are all batting for the same team."
Leo was surprised and so was Percie Hibiscal. They exchanged a glance and the young man nodded, as he said, "Fragrance, the thing that needs your expertise here is this."
He pushed a document to her and said, "This is the latest achievement of the company, we have just finished the tests and gained a patent, and as before we could even taste the fruit of our labours, the military is ready to bite us in the ass. What do you think would be the plausible method to diffuse this situation and protect our interests?"
Fragrance looked at the two people and said, "May I look at the document before making any comment?"
The two people nodded and Fragrance ran her gaze through the contents of the document. After a few minutes, she sighed and said, "Boss, if you guys have achieved this, then you are about to change the face of Fortune Country's tech world completely. No wonder they want to seal this."
Percie Hibiscal raised her brow and asked, "What do they stand to gain from this?"
Fragrance replied, "Well, let us understand how the military seizure works. Usually, they simply do it if the technology is too damaging to the nation, for example, the Samsara Prosthetic Scandal. Those prosthetics were based on a foreign technology and they did more harm than good to the soldiers who received them.
Secondly, they do it when they think that the tech involved in the issue would make a big splash in the foreign market and strengthen the already strong economies. They work in the complete interest of the country and the rest has nothing to do with them."
Percie Hibiscal frowned and said, "We stand to make a lot of profit from this tech, how are we strengthening the foreign economy?"
Fragrance smiled and said, "If you license this tech to someone outside, or it gets stolen. Do you think they will not try to understand or copy it? The Kirin Chipset came out as one of the finest in the world a few years ago, and then within three months of licensing it to the foreigners, the whole thing became outdated by the Elf Chipset. This is why the military had tried to acquire that tech as well. The sole goal of this particular department is to make sure that the home nation prospers before anyone else."
Leo nodded and then asked, "What is the solution?"
Fragrance looked over with her bright eyes and said, "Here is what we can do..."
After discussing for an hour, the meeting came to an end, and Leo asked Percie to make preparations. Then they all set off in the same car and Leo drove the vehicle to the centre of the city to the military administration offices. The place was akin to a different world from the civilian side. As soon as they passed the gates, the guards checked their car, and then guided them to a space designated for the civilians.
Following that they went through another frisk check before entering the building. Percie and Fragrance were walking half a step behind Leo before they were brought to the lobby outside an office and told to wait.
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Percie Hibiscal looked around the decoration and commented, "There is something different about the decorations in a military facility. Everything adds to the imposing air."
Leo Cardinal did not bother to comment on his remark. He took out his phone and texted Snow to ask how she was feeling. Fragrance looked around curiously and said, "The air is so heavy in this place, I feel suffocated."
A few minutes later, an adjutant came over, and said, "The colonel will see you now, this way."
The trio stood up and followed the adjutant inside the office, where they found an old Colonel sitting behind a mahogany desk, smoking pipes. The old man had neat grey hair and his eyes were still as sharp as a blade. The adjutant said, "Sir, Mister Cardinal, Miss Hibiscal, and Miss Optimus."
The old officer nodded and said, "You may leave."
The adjutant saluted the man and walked out of the room. The old officer looked at the three people for a bit before he said, "Have a seat."
Leo first pulled the chairs for the two ladies and then he sat down. He did not do this because he wanted to look nice, but because military officers all considered themselves gentlemen of the highest pedigree. Leo learned this in the virtual realm, and thus he followed.
Sure enough, his action did catch the eye of the old man and he asked, "So, you are the President of the Butterfly Technologies who refuses to give into the military acquisition."
Leo Cardinal smiled and replied, "Yes, sir. I may owe the favour of national security to the military, but I am sure that I have paid that back in the terms of taxes I have paid and the respect I have given to the soldiers. Had it been you, would you consider sharing the medals that you have won by spilling blood with me?"
The old Colonel raised his brows, and his sharp aura assaulted Leo Cardinal and the two. He asked, "How dare you compare my medals with your machines?"
Leo Cardinal was unbothered. He smiled and said, "It is not me who compared these two things, Sir. It is your department. How dare you try to hijack the livelihoods of thousands of people that will be produced by this machine? Shall I take the legal route here and complain about this to the supreme court, and publicize this issue before you can realize the importance of this 'machine'?"
This threat and question were something that Fragrance Optimus had asked him to bring up right off the bat. It might be true that the military had the right to flag anything that could compromise the national benefits, but the point of employment countered the military analysis directly.
The old colonel was surprised that Leo Cardinal was unbothered by his aura, and even dared to put up threats when he was inside a military facility. He took a deep breath and asked, "Since you know the importance of the technology, you should know what can happen if someone with ill-intentions gained access to it, right?"
Leo nodded and replied, "I know, but at the same time, fear is not a good thing when you wish to advance. I am willing to propose a method that would ensure that the technology is safe and will only benefit the nation."
The old man asked, "Tell me then what do you have in mind?"
Leo looked at Percie Hibiscal, who took a deep breath and said, "Colonel Yu, we are willing to run the chip manufacturing plant in cooperation with the military where your department can see where the chips are being used, and sold. You can also investigate our clients before we finalize any deals with anyone.
We are willing to stay contained to the domestic markets, and not sell our product to the foreign companies. This will cost us billions in profit and I hope this price is enough to show that we are sincere in our approach."
Colonel Yu thought about it and said, "What if I do not agree?"
Fragrance Optimus said, "We will file a case of strong-arming us, despite exploring a cooperative and win-win path. The meeting today must have been recorded in the directory of the military office and similarly every word that we have spoken till now must have been recorded as well. Since you are handling a civilian organization, you have to try us in the civilian court, where laws are in our favor as long as we are not in the wrong."
Colonel Yu looked at Fragrance and Leo said, "This is Frag, I mean, Fragrance Optimus, the legal counsel of the Butterfly Technologies."
The old man thought for a bit and then said, "I will tell you the final decision after the meeting with the higher ups. I thank you for coming all the way over."
Leo did not expect the old man to concede so amicably, but then he thought about the older ginger being spicier, and he said, "Colonel, fifty percent of the profit that we make from the sales of the processing chips, I will donate it to military welfare and the martyr funds. So, I hope that you can let us commercialize this operation without much trouble. Let us not hurt the sentiments of respect that exist among the commoners."
Colonel Yu was surprised, and he nodded before repeating his earlier words. Leo stood up from the seat, and helped Percei and Fragrance before leaving the room.
Colonel Yu leaned back in his chair, before he rang the bell and the adjutant came inside. The old man said, "Call a meeting with the officers of the technological department and also the acquisition staff."
The adjutant saluted and left the place.
...
Fragrance waited till they left the military compound and sighed as she said, "Looks like we won?"
Percie nodded, and Leo said, "I don't think it is set in stone at the moment. However, it was a good battle. Fragrance, would you like to take over the role of the legal counsel of Butterfly Technologies, officially?"
Percie was surprised but not in objection, this would reduce her workload a lot, and she approved Frag's skills.
The latter said, "Boss, I am just working on this assignment because of Director Keval telling me. I have just joined and cannot leave the firm."
Leo nodded and replied, "I will talk to Keval, this will be considered an internal transfer, however, don't reveal the information about this to anyone."
The ladies understood the meaning and were shocked, soon Leo dropped them in front of the Monarch Tower, and drove home. His wife and daughter were home and he had to cook them lunch.