Chapter 113 Preparations
Chapter 113 Preparations
After his discussion with Renz De Guzman and Fredrinn, Arlan headed to the Arms Corporation of Maharlika to check on the progress of the production. He brought Khalon with him to the arms company.
When they arrived, they were greeted by Dickoy Tuazon and a few top members of the company. They warmly invited Arlan inside the production facility and showed him the latest status report of the production.
Arlan was pleased when he saw the report. "Not bad. How many Black Dragon Assault Helicopters can you make in a month?" He asked.
Dickoy Tuazon thought for a moment before he answered. "Our team is also working on other projects so we can only make 20 Black Dragon Assault Helicopters by the end of this month."
"Just 20?" Arlan frowned when he heard this.
"Mr. Roa, this is already the best we can do." Dickoy Tuazon muttered.
Arlan stared coldly at him and said. "I want you to prioritize the production of our weapons. As for the other projects, delay them for three months."
Dickoy Tuazon revealed a look of difficulty upon hearing this. "Mr. Roa, the other project is from the country's army. We can't neglect them even if we want to. They might even come to us and do a surprise inspection. We won't be able to hide what we are doing if that happens."
Arlan's frown deepened upon hearing this. Once the country learns that they were mass-producing weapons, they would be imprisoned right away. "I will deal with the army. Just do what I told you." He muttered. He couldn't afford to waste any time at this moment.
Dickoy Tuazon was stunned by his words. 'Can he really handle the army?' He thought.
"Mr. Roa, the Commanding General of the army, Lieutenant General Rivera Agustin isn't an easy person to deal with. Please be careful." Dickoy was once part of the army so he knew what kind of person the current Commanding General was.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it. I'll transfer another ten billion pesos to the company funds. Use it to expand the production facility and hire more competent people." Arlan's words made Dickoy pleasantly surprised.
"Yes, Mr. Roa! I will get it done immediately!" Dickoy patted his chest while saying those words.
"If the projects are done well, I will give you a big surprise." Arlan patted Dickoy's shoulder and left after saying this.
Dickoy Tuazon was invigorated. He knew that Arlan was very rich so he was a bit excited by his promise. "Quick! Cancel the production issued by the military! We should focus on making Mr. Roa's weapons!"
***
"Boss, aren't you afraid that Dickoy would steal some of your money?" Khalon suddenly asked which surprised Arlan. This guy rarely asked him questions.
Arlan stared at Khalon and replied. "He won't dare to betray me. Besides, I don't care if he gets a little bit of my money. After all, money would lose its value soon..."
Khalon stared at him in confusion.
Arlan shook his head and didn't explain himself. He haven't told anyone about the zombie virus yet, but he felt that there was a need to inform his people about it soon.
Arlan entered the car and said. "Drive me to City Land Hotel."
"Yes, boss."
Arlan grabbed his phone and dialed Terrence's number.
"Hello, buddy!"
"Terrence, I want to cancel the construction." Arlan said.
His words shocked Terrence who was on the other end of the call. "What did you say? Why do you want to cancel the construction? Did we do something wrong?"
"No! No! There are some changes in my plans. I want to move the site to Catanduanes. Can you please inform Uncle Luke about this?"
"But we have already used more than a billion of the funds you sent. It would be too wasteful if we shift to another location now. And why does it have to be in Catanduanes?" Terrence thought that Arlan was dissatisfied with their service.
"Listen, buddy. I'm on my way to City Land Hotel. Let's meet there so that we can talk about this matter. Please bring Uncle Luke as well." Arlan said. The current construction site was located in a populated area and it would be difficult to protect it. He had to move to a different location while he still have time. This will cost him a lot of money, but he couldn't care less at this moment.
After disconnecting the call, he dialed Laurence Fink's number and called him.
"Hello, Mr. Roa! How are you?" Laurence's voice drifted into his ears.
"Mr. Finn, I'd like to sell my shares in Starbucks. Are you interested in it?" Arlan believed that money would soon lose its value so he wanted to sell all the assets he could sell. He would then use the money to buy more production equipment to speed up the production of his weapons.
Laurence was still silent and he seemed to be processing Arlan's words. After almost ten seconds of silence, he muttered. "Mr. Roa, is it convenient for you to tell me what's going on? Why did you suddenly want to sell the shares that you just bought less than a month ago?"
"It would be a long explanation. How about we schedule a meeting in two days? We can also invite Mr. Stan to join our discussion." Arlan couldn't explain it over the phone so he could only schedule a meeting for them.
"Alright. I'll clear my schedule for you on that day." He wanted to get his hands on Arlan's Starbucks shares, but he was also curious about the reason behind Arlan's actions.
"Thank you, Mr. Finn. I'll send you the details about the meeting later." Arlan heaved a sigh of relief.
Soon, they arrived at City Land Hotel. Kate Flores, the personal secretary of Luke Montefalco came to greet them at the entrance. She also escorted them to the office of her boss.
"Mr. Montefalco is still on his way here. I'll take you to his office." Kate Flores brought them to the penthouse of the building.
It wasn't Arlan's first time here so he didn't feel uncomfortable. After they entered Luke's office, Kate said. "Please take a seat first, Mr. Roa. I'll give Mr. Montefalco a call and inform him that you are already here."
"Alright." Arlan nodded his head.
"Excuse me." Kate Flores stepped out of the office and grabbed her phone.
It didn't take long before Luke and Terrence arrived at the office.
Arlan stood up and smiled politely at Luke. "Greetings, Uncle Luke."
Luke stared at him with a kind smile. "There's no need to be formal. Just take your seat." He muttered as he walked towards his seat.
Terrence grinned at Arlan and sat beside him. "What's going on, buddy? Why do you want to shift the construction to Catanduanes? We need to use a lot of money to ship the materials there."
Arlan stared at him and then shifted his gaze to Luke. "I'm really sorry about this. I know you guys made a lot of effort to choose the construction site for this project."
Luke chuckled while shaking his head. "There's no need to be sorry. We used your money to buy the materials so our losses aren't as great as yours, but I would like to hear the reason for the abrupt change in the location of the project."
Arlan took a deep breath. He had already thought about the excuse that he would tell them. "Actually, I heard of some information that the land prices in Catanduanes would become fives times their value in a few years. From what I heard, the government is planning to rebuild Catanduanes into one of the best tourist destinations in the country!"
Luke was stunned by his words.
"Five times?!" Terrence gasped in shock.
"That's right. Even if I have to lose more than a billion, I have to take a slice of this cake." Arlan nodded his head. He inwardly praised his Luke turned silent at his words.
"Father..." Terrence didn't know what to say so he could only ask for Oscar-worthy acting skills.
"Aren't you being too hasty about this matter? Have you verified the information? I think that this is too risky. You should think about it carefully, Arlan." Luke felt that something was off about his explanation.
'Aiya! Uncle Luke is a tough one...' Arlan thought to himself. "I've already investigated this information and the results I got were promising. Uncle Luke, we have to grab this opportunity before the others hear about it! I'll pay for your losses and I will also increase the payment after the project is done."
Luke turned silent at his words.
"Father..." Terrence didn't know what to say so he could only ask for his father's opinion.
Luke turned his gaze to Arlan and muttered helplessly. "Since you have already decided, there's nothing I can do. You are my client so I have to listen to your words."
Arlan laughed heartily after getting his approval. "Thank you so much, Uncle Luke! You won't regret this. I promise you that."