The Insurance Man

“Why is this patriotism, and not murder?” Rich said, with his voice low.

Spence pulled his chair closer to Rich. “Rich, when you took out Charlie in Vietnam you did it for the benefit of your country. You did it to keep the capitalistic society of the United States in the forefront of the world; you did it to keep socialism from destroying the American way. You aren’t a draftee who did it because he had to or go to jail. You enlisted; you volunteered for and qualified for the teams; you went through BUD/s; you did your job. Now we’re in a different world, and you’ll have to resort to difficult avenues to get our country back.”

“Would I be following someone else, or leading a team?”

“You will be receiving your orders from me,” responded Spence, “as well as any support needed. The strategic and tactical planning of the mission will be totally up to you. You’ll do the operation in any way you see proper, in order to maximize the outcome. As we find it necessary, you will become part of a team of operatives. As long as the mission will be one on one, you will work alone. If the operation would be more efficient or efficacious with two of you working together, there would be two of you.”

“I know this will be stressful. How often will an operation be necessary?”

Ben pulled his chair closer just as the drinks were delivered. As soon as the waiter left, he looked at Rich and said, “There are eight operatives on board now; you will be number nine. We do not want media attention. . If we push too hard, we’ll fail. For our country, we can’t afford to fail.”

“Tell me what you can about the organization. How big is it, what are its resources?”

This answer came from Spencer Kohl. “Rich, obviously we can’t tell you too much, as you haven’t proved yourself yet. Let’s just say that if you took the bottom fifteen companies in the Standard and Poor’s 500, that would give you the size of our available resources I can tell you that the organization spreads over the largest nineteen countries in the United Nations, other than those which are Socialists and Communists, and the division which you will be in is just getting started We anticipate fifty men, and women, with the kinds of specialized attributes that you have, within two years.”

“Who will do the planning?”

Spence answered again.” As I said, you will do the strategic and tactical planning in the field, after receiving the orders from me as to the objective
.

“How will I receive cash flow for operations in the field?”

Ben chuckled, “looks like we’re getting down to the short strokes; money is in the picture. You will receive a budget for field expenses. I won’t say it is unlimited, and you will have to account for expenses. But if you need more, ask Spence, and he’ll say yes, no, or maybe depending on how much, and why.”

“I had a few other minor questions, but there are two that will help me make my decision. First, how do I combine this position with my insurance business, and secondly upon what will my compensation be based ?

This might give you an indication of the resources of our organization, laughed Spence. “If we get together you will be moving to Hartford, Connecticut, which is two hours away. You will become the Director of Sales for the Eastern Division of the company where I am the Vice President of Sales in the Life Insurance Division. You will receive a compensation of $100,000 dollars a year, plus expenses, plus a bonus based on the production of your division. Dependent upon the operations you are called upon to perform outside of the company, your outside compensation will be between $30,000 and $50,000 plus expenses, per operation. Considering the lack of experience you have for the position, I am bringing you in as an asset for a new program, which I know will do well. We’ll work out all of the particulars to your advantage. Rich, we knew when we came here how we felt about you; the ball is now in your court. We will call you tomorrow for your answer. We’ll even buy that third lobster now, without a decision,

O. K.?”

The next two hours were very cordial amongst the three men. Absolutely nothing was mentioned about the earlier conversation, and the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, and Patriots took up most of their time together.