C6 More steps on it

Dr. Richard drove home and quickly ransacked his safe for Money. There was not enough in the safe to pay for a packet of A-10 Oil Pipeline Pit.

He could only gather one hundred and forty thousand dollars. The balance of thirty five thousand dollars was a far cry except he chooses to visit his bank for it.

There was no problem about that. The time was just 12:05pm and the bank could still be wide open for customers then; and, interestingly enough, his account with the bank had enough juicy credit from which to withdraw.

Only one thing perturbed him and that was going to the bank again to withdraw money after he had been there for the same purpose on the previous day when he withdrew one hundred thousand dollars.

He had hoped to add up the one hundred thousand dollars to forty thousand dollars at home then to make up for ten thousand shares of Standard chartered Bank on offer for fifty dollar at fourteen dollar per share.

It had been long since he started nursing the wish to acquire shares in the bank and would not allow the opportunity of the public offer of the bank now going on to elude him.

However, he knew that the date for the offer to close was still a long way ahead, say, two weeks from that date.

Only a foolish and narrow minded person could tie down his money and turn a blind eye to a lucrative business opportunity that can be transacted many times over before the due date of tying the money down.

Dr. Richard had no doubt that his business with Engineer Kennedy would mature ahead of the closure of the public offer of the bank.

So plunging his money of one hundred and forty thousand dollars into his transaction with Engineer Kennedy appeared to him as a smart business decision that could even increase his chances of buying more shares from the profit to be realized.

ln fact, he targeted buying one million share from the bank after his business transaction with Engineer Kennedy and still has enough to Beverly hills, fly 1st class flight and holiday destination to any where around the world, and enjoy bogus life with his family.

He was at the bank by 12:45pm and cleared his car at one of the unoccupied spaces of the parking lot when his phone started ringing.

He took up his and glanced at it; it was Engineer Kennedy calling.

"Hello,"

"Good day, Dr. Richard. This is Engineer Kennedy."

" Yeah, I know so."

"I'm now in New York. Sorry for my delay on calling you. Our flight to New York was delayed in Pittsburgh and had to take off nearly ten minutes behind schedule. That's why we arrived New York late."

"ls that so?"

"That's exactly what happened. l shall be in Baltimore within an hour. Are you now in the airport?"

"No, but I hope to be there within thirty minutes."

"Please try to keep your promise and disappoint me. l have told you that I'm not familiar with the areas in Baltimore. I need someone like you to rely on at airport."

" Don't mind. l will be there to wait for your arrival."

"With the samples of the product, I presume."

"Yes, of course."

The bank was filled up to the brim with customer and the queue built up by those making transfer and withdrawing money seemed endless.

Dr. Richard was surprised to see huge crowd of customers who had come to the bank for various transcation. He was confused on what to do, whether to go back or not, damn no, he must withdraw for his transaction with Engineer Kennedy.

He had no other choice but to withdraw money unfailingly, which was the only choice open for him.

He had no courage to join the queue. Then, he remembered a friend of his working in the bank and called him on phone with the intention of asking him to come to his rescue.

The phone rang till it stopped. There was no answer. He re-dialled the number and the same thing happened. There was no answer still however much he dialled the number.

For three consecutive times that he dialled and re-dialled the number later nobody answered the call.

Dr. Richard was mad with anger and grumbled over someone refusing to pick his calls for goodness sake.

lt then became obvious to him that joining the lengthy queue was inevitable for him if he must make withdrawals from the bank that day.

lt was not joining queue that was the matter but the time it would take before it get's to his turn. On a mental calculation, when he was choosing the counter to queue up, he found out that the counter with the least number of people had twenty-one customers on the queue.

The worst of it all was that the cashiers on the counter seemed to be in no hurry to render services to the customers on the queue.

That was supposed to mean that he might end up spending about an hour, thirty minutes before it could get to his turn.

Damn, He had only forty five minutes left for him to be at the airport or Engineer Kennedy might arrive and not finding him there and that would be disastrous and the end of his business with Engineer Kennedy.

Instantly, a surging thought came to his mind. He applauded it as the only alternative worth exploiting for him to leave the bank as earlier planned.

His first attempt to short change the people on the queue through a staff of the bank who was a friend of his was a complete mess up as his friend weren't available to help out.

Now it had come to the point that he must look for another way out of the mess and then formulate lies to see his plan sail through.

There were five counters in the current account section of the bank and a veteran cashiers manned each of them. There of them were males and two female cashiers were in the other two counters.

Dr. Richard studied each of the cashiers, as if making a serious study of them and did so surreptitiously like a mind reader.

He ruled out the idea of asking for a favour from either of the females; for he would not like them to remind him that he should wait for his turn or forget the idea of withdrawing or making transfer.

His request was not the kind he should make and expect to fail. He'd better go to the males and try his luck with one of them.

They would understand him better than their female counterpart. He went to the counter where a young cashier was on duty.

He just hoped that the boy would listen to him and answer his father's name. Of course he would, considering Dr. Richard's age that was fit to match the age of the boy's own father.

Nature as well as custom demands that one ougth to expect respect from his child or someone in age bracket with his child.

He decided to wait at the counter for the cashier to conclude with the customer begin paid before lodging his request.

His phone started to ring while he was waiting on the counter but he switched it off. Fear of the rules in the bank relating to receiving and making calls in the bank by customers didn't even allow him to look at the screen of his phone to know who the caller was much less answering the call.

He was supposed to have switched off the phone, which was the standing instruction of the bank to all it's customers for security reasons.

Even the blind could see this instruction in bold print and pasted on all the four walls of the Banking Hall.

"Good day, sir," Dr. Richard said to the young cashier.

"What?" the cashier asked in a surprise manner and tune. He least expected a man of Dr. Richard's age and personality to add "sir" at his mention.

"l said good day."

"Oh, thanks," Good day to you too sir." The cashier responded.

"Please l want to seek a favour from you. I'm here to withdraw money to solve an emergency situation but too many people in the bank are handicapping me from achieving that purpose today. lf I join the queue and wait for my turn, the emergency might not take the benefit of the money that l will withdraw. lt would be too late by then."

The cashier did not say anything but looked at the long queue before his counter, and then glanced at the first two to three faces on the queue.

"I'm afraid you have to obtain permission from the queue, sir," the cashier said at length.

" They're not against my request; it's an emergency as I told you."

After a moment nobody raised a demur and the cashier outstretched his arm from inside the counter and collected Dr. Richard's cheque.

He thanked the cashier and extended the same to the customers on the queue. The cashier completed paying him on time and he hurried out of the bank after tipping the cashier with a One thousand dollars as a gift to him.

He walked strength down to the bank's garage where his car was parked, as he quickly glanced at his wristwatch and was not ungrateful to the young and kind cashier for saving his time.

By his watch he had up to thirty minutes before Engineer Kennedy's flight would be do to land at the airport.

There was an exhilarating relief in his feeling. The earlier panic that perturbed him that Engineer Kennedy might arrive while he was still locked up in the bank on longer existed.

He still had enough time and could even while away for pleasure and still reach at the airport on time.

Now the phone that rang while he was looking for favour from the cashier came to his mind. He decided to switch on his phone and check who the caller was.

Oh damn it, it was Engineer Shaw, I think I should call him now. Perhaps he's got something to tell me.

" Hello, Dr. Richard," Engineer Shaw responded at Dr. Richard's call.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't pick your call when it came. l was busy at the bank then and I had to switch it off when the phone rang to avoid embarrassed and distraction."

"There is no problem about that," Engineer Shaw said. "Have you got the product now with you?"

"No, but I'm on my way with the money to meet Francis for it."

" That would be nice but you have to hurry up as Engineer Kennedy will soon arrive Baltimore."

"Am on it, I'm doing my best and will rush to the airport as soon as I collect the product from Francis and will do so as fast as I could make it."

"All right, just discuss very well with Engineer Kennedy and ensure that you agree with him."

"Leave that to me."

He drove from the bank and headed for Dice junction. He was hoping that Francis would call him before he would get to Dice junction and tell him where to meet his assistant to collect a packet of the A-10 Oil Pipeline Pit product in exchange for the money.

He got to Dice junction without receiving a call from Francis. He then decided to call Francis himself.

He cleared his car by the roadside and called. Francis picked the call only to tell him that he had not reached his assistant and requested to be allowed extra ten minutes to reach his assistant. Dr. Richard accepted his request and remained that Dice junction to await the end of the ten minutes for Francis call.

Francis called before the ten minutes.

"Hello, this is Dr. Richard."

"Hi, it's Francis on the line, please. Are you still at Dice junction?"

"Oh yeah.."

"Have you got the money for a packet with you?"

"Of course, I do."

"How will my assistant know you?"

"I'm of average build with bare head and solid like bold look."

Francis split a little laugher following Dr. Richard's description of himself.

"What are you wearing?"

"I'm wearing blue lace shirt and black pants."

"Okay, it's because you seem to be a gentleman that we're going to release a packet for you. I hope a packet will be enough for your customer."

"I suppose so," Dr. Richard said.

"Your registration may have to wait for now because it's likely to take a long time to conclude. I'm trying to consider the possibility of making use of an already existing contractor with us to supply you the goods so that your customer will not be delayed when he comes. After your customer might have come and gone, then you can come to pay and get registered formerly as one of our contractor in case of further transaction."

"Now you're talking," Dr. Richard replied elatedly. "That's exactly what I want."

"All right then, l have to call my assistant and get back to you in ten minutes. Will ten minutes be too long?"

"l don't think it is provided it doesn't exceed."

"No, it won't."

"Then I'm waiting," Dr. Richard said.