Anthony observed William, who had his eyes closed, for a few seconds before speaking. "Many of the mid-to-high-level positions in the company are filled by people from the government who followed Ms. Catherine when she left office. I'm concerned that..."
"That's fine," William interrupted with a wave of his hand. "The defense products company is a special case. Former government officials are exactly the type of people we need right now. Besides, the product sales are under my control. As long as there's no embezzlement or internal betrayal, I don't care much about the rest. Just make sure the finances are independent."
Necessary oversight is essential for any organization, and William understood this. However, with Sunday monitoring everything, he was confident nothing could slip past him.
"No problem, Boss," Anthony nodded firmly. He then added with a chuckle, "The other shareholders likely realize the company would struggle without you, so they haven't interfered with finances. They only requested that we bring in their financial experts to audit the books every six months."
"That's fine," William replied. "It's a reasonable precaution. Let them audit."
After discussing some finer points, William bid Anthony farewell around 10 p.m. when Sunday suddenly reminded him, "Sir, with my responsibilities continuing to increase, my main server is reaching capacity. You'll need to invest in an upgrade soon."
William rolled his eyes. "Damn, didn't I just upgrade you recently? How can it be time to spend more money already?"
However, money was hardly an issue for William now. He asked Sunday, "What about the base in Yellowstone? Isn't there a large server cluster there? Why not use that?"
"Sir, you previously instructed me to keep that base offline."
"Alright, I'm authorizing you to use it now. Is the base fully cleared? I might take a look when I have time."
"It's been completely cleared. You can visit at your convenience."
The next morning, while having breakfast, William saw comprehensive news coverage of the previous day's crisis. Speaker Eli had been taken into custody, and suspicions were subtly directed toward the military-industrial complex. When the stock market opened, shares of defense contractors began a steady decline, and it was clear to those in the know that this was only the beginning of the chaos.
William, however, paid little attention to these events. Over the following days, Catherine took her team of more than twenty to handle the live ammunition testing, while William made a few calls and provided the media with occasional updates on the testing process. Possibly as a way to divert public attention, the media turned their focus entirely on William, and he took a different approach than usual, cooperating with them to do an exclusive interview. Once it aired, the American public became well aware of the bulletproof suit testing, and the publicity helped everything go smoothly.
On the day of the test, more than a hundred media outlets were present, along with around a dozen military officials, all wearing uniforms adorned with stars, just as Benjamin Arthur had predicted.
"Mr. Devonshire, you can call me General Hawk. It's a pleasure to meet you, and thank you for everything you've done for us."
William noted the three stars on Hawk's shoulder, identifying him as a lieutenant general. "Thank you, and please, come this way," he said, leading Hawk and his entourage of ten to the indoor shooting range.
A variety of guns were laid out on a long table, and nine suits had been placed on mannequins standing ten meters away.
"You're all experts with firearms, so why don't you go first?" William joked with Hawk. "Wouldn't want any of the wealthy folks here to hurt themselves."
"Ha! Mr. Devonshire, you're mistaken. Most of the people here today are gun enthusiasts. Otherwise, they'd be watching this on the news rather than coming in person."
"Fair enough," William laughed. "Each target is limited to ten shots. If any of the bulletproof suits gets penetrated, I'll treat everyone here to a ten-day celebration at any nightclub."
"Only ten shots?"
"For heaven's sake, how many more do you need? It's a bulletproof suit, not armor. Are you planning to stand still and let someone shoot at you ten times?"
"Alright, alright," William clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "We'll start with ten rounds per suit. If they hold up, we can test how many more they can take before getting penetrated. Sound good?"
"Good idea," several people agreed. "Ten rounds would be impressive, but if it can take a hundred without breaking, every high-end bulletproof gear company will be out of business."
"Thank you for the well-wishes," William chuckled, nodding to Catherine to begin the test.
The half-day test passed quickly. The bulletproof suit that lasted the longest under handgun fire took 129 shots before it was penetrated. Meanwhile, the suit tested with rifles held up under 43 rounds. One suit, tested with a Barrett sniper rifle, managed to stop a standard sniper round, though it left a significant dent in the mannequin, which would surely break a few ribs if it hit a person.
Still, if worn over a ceramic plate, the bulletproof suit might even withstand a Barrett's round completely.
The results showed the extraordinary durability of the bulletproof suit, though the $5 million price tag made some people hesitate—especially General Hawk, who was clearly torn between admiration and the cost of equipping his best soldiers.
"I'm sorry, General Hawk, but you'll need to speak with Catherine about pricing." William shrugged at Hawk's attempt to negotiate. "Catherine is the CEO now, and she handles the operations. Even I don't have the authority to offer you a discount."
William felt at ease negotiating with the U.S. military, knowing Catherine's background as a former British Home Secretary. During introductions, several generals with stars on their chests even saluted her, a gesture that reassured William he'd made the right choice in appointing her as CEO of the defense company.
Apologizing to Hawk's group, William then turned his attention to the other prospective clients in attendance.
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