Rather short one this time. I am writing more as you read this very sentence. There will be more to come.
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The wheels chirped on the US asphalt, Louisiana had a smell of fresh sea air. Every breath was one of rejuvenation and determination. We grabbed our bags and made our way over to the sports sedan that had been arranged for us. The four of us hopped into the Porsche Panamera and got going. We landed in Louisiana instead of Texas in the event that our flight plan was leaked to any would-be assassins. I was headed to meet my new MMA teacher; Shane Diresta. I would also be getting instructors for both my Fiancé; Megan, and Sister Samantha. Eager to get started; we barreled down the highway toward Houston.
The Collective owned no hotels in Houston, so we opted to stay at the Houstonian Hotel Club and Spa. On the books the Houstonian was owned by some snobby business man, however, Vitur discovered that there was a ghost backer that put up 50% of the capital to build the hotel. His name was Cliff Trajer, and it turns out that he is actually staying at the hotel for the next week. I find myself becoming more and more interested in meeting this man. The Houstonian is the best rated hotel in Houston; I am genuinely curious why he was keeping himself private in the deal. I had Vitur book reservations and find out where Cliff spends his time. With that taken care of we went directly to Shane's private gym to meet him.
Upon first view of his gym you wouldn't think anything of it. It was an old brick building with boards on the windows and blacked out doors. Walking into the place however, we were blasted with heavy gusts of A/C and a grand view of the big gym. It was equip with heavy bags, speed bags, Muay Thai bags, a full-fledged boxing ring, and MMA Octagon. There was only one man inside; he stood much smaller than me, at a measly 5'11" however he was extremely muscular, at about 220lbs. I stood at around 6'4" and 245lbs, though I can easily put on more muscle, which is exactly what I intend to do while training here. He made his way over to us and extended his hand, I reciprocated.
"I am Shane, you must be Daniel. I heard about Hiro; I am sorry for your loss." He said, shaking my hand.
"Thank you Shane. I really appreciate it. This is my sister Samantha and my Fiancé Megan." I said, as he shook their hands.
"We will be starting training tomorrow at 6:00am. That door is normally locked, so here are some keycards," He said, passing them out. "You are free to use the gym as much as you like, just put things back where they were. The strength area is through archway and the cardio area is over there." He said using his hands to point to both of them. We thanked him and let him get back to his workout.
We were all pretty hungry so we stopped at a street lined with food trucks and started demolishing some steak wraps and tacos. After we were stuffed we headed over to the Houstonian and checked in. We were booked into the Capitol Suite; as the mysterious Cliff Trajer took up residence in the presidential suite. Upon reaching our room we saw that there were chocolate covered strawberries and champagne on ice. I wasn't interested in either; however the girls were all over it. I decided to head out to have a cigar at a local cigar lounge. I had the valet bring the car around and I headed out. I pulled into the complex and walked into the store. I got a nice cigar and paired it with a good tasting whiskey. I made my way to an empty room to enjoy my guilty pleasures in solitude. A few minutes after I sat another gentleman came in, he wore a suit and cowboy boots, much like my own style. He sat opposite me and lit up his own cigar. He was tan in complexion, standing at a decent 6'1"; he looked to be in his late twenties. His hands were not of a businessman's; they were callused, as if he worked on a ranch. He spoke first.
"Nice pair of boots, I would ask if you just bought them now trying to live like a 'Real Cowboy' like some tourists do, however it looks like you've got some miles on them things." He said, with a slight southern drawl evident.
"Much obliged, yeah, I discovered these gems when I was on my feet the whole day working as a chef in Paris. They were a life saver to say the least..." I replied.
"Do you still work as a chef? You don't seem to be..." He was referring to the Gucci suit I currently wore. I wanted to look professional for my meeting with Shane and the upcoming meeting with John Glover; Mayor of Houston.
"You caught me on a rare day" I said chuckling "No, I don't work anymore, I made some smart investments that paid off better than I could have ever imagined. Needless to say I don't need to work anymore, however I still have many irons in the fire."
"Something similar happened to me," He said "I made a few very smart investments that brought me from a poor kid living in Baton Rouge to a successful businessman in Houston." He said.
"I am Daniel." I said extending my hand.
"I am quite aware of you Mr. Vanderbuilt. My name is Cliff Trajer. I wanted to meet with you at some point, but this was pure chance. I normally go here a couple times a week for some peace through tobacco; it's amazing that you are here too." He said, shaking my hand.
"I have herd of you also, it's good to put a face to a name. Why did you want to meet me?" I asked.
"While I get good monthly income from the Houstonian, I want to diversify; I don't want to be dependent on the Houstonian. To put it simply, I want to work for you." He said.
"Well, what can you do? And more importantly; can you do it better than your competition?" I asked.
"I invent things. The stake that I have in the Houstonian wasn't money that I put forward; it was money I saved them. I sourced their metal cheaper, built it stronger. I got lumber at half thickness, and made it look better and function stronger than the original. I revamped and improved their whole computer and security infrastructure too." Now I was really intrigued.
"I guess opportunities have a way of presenting themselves; I am going to be going to Alaska soon and I will need something to take me 300+ miles off-road, through many feet of snow to my destination. Can you build me something that can take me there?" I asked.
"How long will you be in Houston?"
