Chương 84: Book 3 - Chapter 13 B

It was wonderful I didn't have to fly to find my target on the second Thursday of September. I found Dick Teague exactly where my memories told me to find him: in a massive, climate-controlled garage complex in a quiet San Diego suburb, meticulously polishing the fender of a magnificent, mid-engined AMX/3 concept car. He was 62, retired, and looked blissfully out of place in a pressed shirt and slacks, surrounded by tools.

"Mr Teague," I said, stepping past a low-slung Ferrari. He looked up, his expression a mixture of surprise and slight annoyance.

"It's Dick, son. And who the devil are you, and how did you get past the alarm?" he asked, putting down the chamois cloth. His eyes, though diminished by his childhood accident, were sharp and held that relentless spark of a true enthusiast.

"My name is Dr John Cook. I'm sorry for the intrusion, but this couldn't be a phone call," I explained, holding out a briefcase that looked far too large for my ten-year-old self.

"I need your help designing something special." He chuckled, wiping his hands on a rag.

"What a go cart? What does a boy your age need to know about car design?" I set the briefcase on a workbench and opened it. Inside were not cash or bonds, but binders filled with detailed blueprints and financial models, all marked 'Euro Motors.'

"I know that the only thing keeping AMC alive is the Jeep Cherokee XJ, your last masterpiece, and the only thing AMC truly owns is the brand loyalty of the American public," I said, pointing to the structural analysis of the XJ chassis.

"I also know that your Pacer was one of the safest cars on the road, that the Hornet was the single most versatile platform in the history of the industry, and that you made miracles out of shoestring budgets. You understand the manufacturing and production of parts by companies around the world and how to integrate them so the total is greater than the sum of the parts." He walked over, my honest flattery and his professional curiosity instantly overriding his annoyance.

He flipped through the pages—platform sharing strategies, engine rationalization charts, and detailed information on BMW, Renault, Volvo, Saab, Aston Martin, Rover, Morgan, Lamborghini, Porsche, Maserati, Alpha Romeo and AMC. His eyes widened when he saw the rough plan showing possible synergies between all of them.

"My word," he murmured, picking up the internationally diverse financial models.

"This isn't a plan it's Operation Overlord and a Declaration of War on the Big Three." He closed the binder and looked back at me, a wide, genuine smile on his face.

"This is genius, John. Utter, complicated, beautiful genius. I don't see how it could be possible to pull off. What did you want from me?"

"I need you to perfect the plan. To make it a product roadmap, not just a balance sheet. Figure out who is essential to start. Then create addendums for everybody else.

"I'll go to Europe. I'm confident I can get the ball rolling. I want AMC to be a part of it, and I'll need you to lead the American division when the dust settles, and guarantee that the spirit of the Jeep and the Eagle is maintained," I told him.

"And I need your price." Teague walked back to the AMX/3, placed his hand on the sleek, powerful roofline, and looked back at me.

"The French will never let AMC be what it needs to be, John. They will milk the Jeep cash cow until it drops dead. I'll do it. I'll write the plan and I'll run American side of the company, but only on one condition." He looked me in the eye, the spark of the designer and the collector blazing.

"Free American Motors from Renault, completely. That's my price. Can you do it, John?"

"I can," I said and reached out to shake his hand. When the Victorville broadcast control room was finished, we had a meeting.

"First, congratulations to Dr Como, the equipment works, and the new broadcast facility is fully operational. We now have a wireless cable company." This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. There was applause.

"The Victorville warehouse is filling up with receivers, the installers are being trained and tomorrow the test signal will change to an advertisement for the new wireless cable."

"It needs a better name," someone suggested.

"Right," I agreed.

"American Wireless will be spun off as a completely separate entity. Dr Como, I'd like you to serve as CTO."

"What's a CTO?" he asked.

"Chief Technical Officer. The engineering version of CEO. Making it work and doing a slow, steady nationwide build-out is your job."

"I can do that."

"Anyone who worked on the project is welcome to join the new company. Same salary but there will probably be raises to accompany new duties and job titles." There was some clapping for that announcement.

"Who's going to be CEO?"

"Not me," I said.

"I've hired a guy who comes from Comcast. He has the experience to handle new subscribers and knows the ins and outs of making it profitable. He is especially excited by our digital commercial insert system." I turned and looked at everyone in the room.

"The next month is going to be a madhouse. Be prepared to work late almost every night. When people see that the first year is $14. 99 a month, we won't be able to keep up with the orders." There was a gasp, as I hadn't shared that previously. It was the beginning of November, and I was very pleased with American Wireless. I met with the CEO, Lars Calvo in the Victorville broadcast facility to get his final update. He was proving every bit as sharp as I expected.

"Lars, good to see you. Has the last couple of months been as insane as I predicted?" I asked him. Lars, gave me a focused smile.

"Insane, John but the machine is humming. Your prediction was right. The moment we started installing receivers and offering basic cable for $9. 99 a month on September 2nd, the orders came in too fast to count."

"What's the status on the subscriber count?" I asked him.

"We blew through the early targets. With our 1, 500 installers averaging six homes per day, we managed to get over 250, 000 homes connected by October 1st."

"And the $100 new customer installation fee is working to manage the initial rush?"

"It is but even with that, the backlog is months long. The demand for this is just off the charts."

"I knew it would be. How are the profit drivers looking—the premium packages we rolled out in October?" I asked.

"They are fantastic. The pay-per-view movies are an instant hit at $3. 99 for a twenty-four-hour rental. High margins and zero maintenance there. And the music service is getting huge traction. People love having the top 10 radio stations in LA alongside ten premium ad-free music channels. I'm expanding the offering next month. We'll go to twenty ad-free music channels, including a dedicated Holiday Music channel."

"Perfect. With the minimal hardware maintenance involved, you can scale aggressively. Where are you expanding next?"

"I'm already moving to cover all of California. We started with Coalinga and Clearlake to get a solid presence in central California and now we're gearing up for the combined Sacramento and Bay Area. We'll complete the statewide build-out on schedule."

"And what about the snoop van? Are you getting the data I promised you?" His eyes brightened.

"The secret change to the box—the short-range transmitter—is everything. Being able to drive around and trigger a data download is a total game-changer. For the first time, I can see what people are actually watching and listening to. This data is so much better than Nielsen provides. One of the engineers here is building more snoop vans so we can get data records more often."

"Excellent. You've ensured that everything is running smoothly. That's my cue. I'm stepping away completely now. I'll be heading to New York for my next project."

"I'll keep running American Wireless, John. No worries there," Lars promised.

"Don't worry about trying to acquire cable channels. I've got a plan for that, just keep doing what you have to expand the basic and premium packages."

"It's a different approach, but it has made signing Carriage Agreements easier. I've been able to be a bit more a la carte with my choices because of the lack of perceived competition."

"Good luck, not that I think you need it," I told him. I gave him a handshake and headed for the door, my attention already focused on New York.