The Minders Read Online Free PDF Page B

more notes. On quick review, he counted 120 plus seats. A small pittance he thought, for saving his boy.
    He printed the original seat design and laid them side by side with the new designs. There were only minor differences.  The armrests were slightly thicker. There was a solar strip in one armrest, including a small lithium battery, and a 360-degree blue LED light placed at the top of the backrest. A great idea, one he would have done free of charge without the kidnapping. The entire job was possible with most parts remaining intact. The existing seats were compliant, top of the line in design, and by all measures perfect, the way they were.
    Why make the change?
    The web page ended with a simple short warning that put a cold, heart-wrenching chill through his body.
    You talk. He dies.
    *  *  *
    It was a restless night, with no sleep, for Mike. He was up by 4:30 a.m. He took a shower, was dressed, and gone before anyone else woke up. He needed to get out. He needed to start on a plan. Sunlight was peeking through the horizon. It was going to be a clear and nice day outside. For Mike it felt like a dark desperate day. He had a hard time swallowing let alone able to eat. He drove to his favorite coffee shack, ordered his regular, paid and drove off. He needed some warmth and caffeine in his body to survive the morning.
    It was a fast drive early in the morning. He reached the office complex, drove through the multi-level parking structure at the base of his building, his construction company’s headquarters. He drove straight to the executive area where a sign clearly marked his space. He passed no more than a dozen other cars in the lot. He parked, walked over to the express elevator for a straight ride to his floor, coffee in hand, gripping his briefcase in the other. There were a few lights on. Like him, some were early, also with coffee in hand. As eyes meet, some greeted him and he greeted in kind. He really was not in the mood to be his normal talkative self. He went directly to his office. He sat at his desk, emptied his briefcase, and loaded up the plans and designs on his computer. He brought up schedules for several fabrication facilities and tracked down some down time. He shot off several quick inquisitive emails to supervisors and managers around the country and patiently waited, his mind wandering all over the place. He was alone and afraid for his son.
    An hour and a half later, his secretary cheerfully walked in and handed him the daily mail and paperwork, all neatly sorted. After some pleasantries about their weekends, she left him alone.  At the very top of the pile rested a courier-delivered package from the City and County of Denver. The large yellow envelope was bursting with form letters, renewal permits, and copies of the original contract between Tower Construction and the city, along with references to those contract sub-sections covering maintenance and repairs. Added to the mix was strongly worded verbiage about existing errors and oversights. Substantial fines were forthcoming, if not corrected by a certain date. In short, all the paperwork he needed to get the job done without a hitch. It was all included, signed and ready to go, in one package. The installation dates and deadlines perfectly matched the dates in his instructions, an occurrence rare in any government job, especially construction projects.
    Mike had never seen permits delivered. Usually one went to city hall, with plans, paperwork and a checkbook in hand, and pride fully in check, for a day of torment. You would sit in small hot offices where a government employee would scrutinize every spec of ink, for conformity to their codes. That day of eating shit preceded more days that were similar, more time, more costs, and eventually you might get your permit to do something, or part of something. It was hell on earth for contractors and engineers, a sanctioned and legal mugging to be sure. Whoever was behind this thing had great