Exit 9

THE PORT OF FREMANTLE

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The Mary Rae arrived just before dawn, and was guided to the dock of the small harbor at the mouth of the Swan River. There, at exactly 8:30 a.m., the process of removing shipping containers full of food and clothing and other items commenced.

John Palmer’s interest was only in the group of twenty-five containers his company had been hired to pick up. They’d first be taken to his warehouse in Perth, then, at a date yet unknown to him, trucked to specific locations throughout Western Australia. His understanding was that this was part of an expansion plan by a Dutch retailer. Apparently, an American competitor was planning a similar expansion, so the Dutch were hoping to get in first and gain a foothold prior to the other company’s arrival.

The details didn’t really matter. For Palmer, it was getting the business that was important. The years of global stagnation had been hard on his company. He’d had to release some good people, and even sell one of his distribution centers. But this was a big job. Not only were there the twenty-five containers today, but at least another hundred were on their way over in the next two weeks. Beyond that, his new client had indicated that similar shipments would continue on a monthly basis if everything went according to their business plan.

He sure as hell hoped it did. Palmer Transport amp; Shipping wouldn’t be totally out of the woods, but the steady business would help. With any luck, other companies would also be expanding into the west.

By two p.m., all twenty-five containers had arrived at his warehouse and were being offloaded by his men.

As instructed, he called his contact at Hidde-Kel Holdings, the parent company of the retail chain.

“Mr. Vanduffel, John Palmer in Perth.”

“John, good to hear from you. How are you?” Mr. Vanduffel spoke English well enough to almost but not quite hide his Dutch accent.

“I’m well, thanks. You?”

“Very good. Thank you.”

Without even thinking about it, Palmer began doodling on the pad of paper next to his phone. It was an old habit, an outlet for the frustrated teenage artist still buried deep inside him. “Just wanted to let you know that your first shipment’s arrived, and at this very moment is being safely stored away in my warehouse.”

“Excellent news. How does everything look? Any sign of damage?”

“Checked the containers myself and they all look fine on the outside. Do you want us to open them up and do an inspection?”

Mr. Vanduffel paused as if considering the idea. “No, I don’t think that will be necessary. But thank you for offering.”

“Not a problem. If you change your mind, happy to do it.”

“Thank you. I should have the distribution plan worked out in the next day or so, and will send it to you then. My hope is to have the containers that arrived today already on their way to the different sites before the next shipment comes in.”

“That would be great but no worries. I have the room if that doesn’t work out.”

“Good to know. Thank you again. We appreciate your efficiency. Have a good day.”

“You, too.”

Palmer snickered at the drawing he created, a rendering of what he thought Mr. Vanduffel looked like. Not half bad, either, though the mustache he’d given him was a little cartoony for his taste. He tossed the drawing in the trash, and walked back out to the warehouse floor. He was happy to see that over half the containers were already stacked in place.

Yes, he thought. Things were getting better. He could feel it. The worst was behind them.

Next year would be great.

S. B. KELLER MEMORIAL LIBRARY

HAWKINS UNIVERSITY

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

Jeannie Saunders shut her book. “Okay, I’m done.”

Corey Wilson smiled, but kept his eyes on his laptop’s screen. “You finished all five chapters?”

“Four.”

“Thought you had to do five.”

From the corner of his eye, he could see her scowl. “I’ve read enough for today. Come on. Let’s go get something to eat.”

This time he did look up. “Don’t know if you noticed, but, unlike you, I haven’t finished yet.”

“That paper’s not even due until the end of the semester,” she argued.

“Because it’s a research paper. Meaning I’ve gotta do a lot of research first before I write it.”

“Ugh!” She leaned back in her chair. “What am I supposed to do? Just sit here and wait?”

“Go get something to eat.”

“How much longer are you going to be here?”

“At least another couple of hours.”

“Come on, Corey. I’m hungry.”

“Go. I’m not stopping you.

The scowl reappeared. “Fine.” She stood up. “Want me to bring you back something?”

“Banana?”

She came around the table, leaned down, and gave him a kiss. “You’d better still be working when I come back.”

As she walked away, he returned his attention to his computer. The research paper he was working on was for a class called Business of Agriculture 523. Ag business also happened to be the emphasis of the MBA he was working on. The assignment was to pick out a particular agriculture-associated company and do a detailed analysis of their business model, strengths, and weaknesses. Corey had chosen Varni Gen-Sym, a seed company specializing in genetically enhanced produce. The reason he went with Varni was because it was the same company that had been providing seeds to his uncle’s farm for the last several years.

What he hadn’t expected was to find that the company was basically boring. There was no real meat to sink his teeth into. Not only was it a family-run business that only sold seeds, but it didn’t even develop its own product. Instead, it licensed its seed designs from others, and had no research arm of its own. Even its profit was steady but unremarkable.

He’d decided that morning he was going to look around and see if he could find something more interesting. The big problem was, the obvious companies had already been snatched up by his classmates. He needed to find something different, perhaps a little unusual, a company no one else would have even thought to claim.

So far he’d come up with a couple of different possibilities. Top on that list was Komai Produce. It was a regional company in the Pacific Northwest, so not well known to the students of Hawkins University. What Corey liked about Komai was that it was considerably more diverse than Varni. It had started off as a produce distributor, but had since entered several other areas including produce display, where it had a division that created consumer- friendly bins and storage units that kept produce fresh by means of micro-temperature control and automated misters.

Corey particularly liked the fact Komai was expanding while a lot of other organizations were holding pat. That afternoon he was working his way through articles about the company, starting with the earliest he could find and moving forward.

The story he’d been reading when Jeannie interrupted him was from six months earlier. He finished that, then moved on to the next one, but after only a few paragraphs he looked up, frustrated. Turned out Komai had been purchased outright five months earlier by a company called Hidde-Kel Holdings.