America 1982-Chapter 410 - 52: The Father-in-Law Who Tricks for Food and Drink
Tommy had just received a distress call from Dad while sipping coffee with his older brother Tony at an outdoor Italian café stand in Times Square, New York, taking a break and waiting for Odelia, Ashley, and Bessie.
At the moment, the future daughters-in-law of the Hawk family were posing for Bessie’s camera in Times Square, striking various poses at her request to help her practice her photography skills.
Frank, who worked on Wall Street, and Kevin, a talk show comedian, the two highest in combat strength in the CS gang, were pursuing separate tasks; Frank was securing front-row tickets for tonight’s Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, while Kevin was responsible for arranging post-game drinks and chit-chat.
"Still getting used to it?" Tommy asked Tony with a mischievous grin, nodding towards Ashley who was smiling for Bessie’s camera off in the distance. "Usually, guys like you, outstanding American officers, how do you deal with your needs during the long abstinence period?"
Though Tony was dressed in civilian clothing, he sat with a more upright posture than his slovenly younger brother, Tommy. Hearing his brother’s tease, Tony responded with a smile, "Didn’t you know? The Pentagon has long thought of everything for us. There’s a blow-up doll provided on every ship, free for all the crew to take turns with."
"Really?" Tommy asked, exaggerated.
With a serious expression, Tony affirmed, "Absolutely true."
"Do me a favor, dear brother, for the sake of our sibling relationship," Tommy, seeing Tony’s earnest look, nodded in acquiescence before making his request.
As if anticipating Tommy’s request, Tony proactively offered, "Arrange for you to wear my uniform and board the ship for a taste of the experience?"
"No, sneak that thing out and then have my father-in-law’s shipping company study the same material for their ships. That blow-up doll sounds like it can withstand more pressure than the United States Navy aircraft carriers. It survives months of abuse by three to four thousand men and still remains intact—astonishing durability. It might even be used as aerospace material. Just imagine, NASA astronauts each riding a blow-up doll to the moon—much cooler than a space shuttle," Tommy told Tony.
"Makes sense. If that darn intruder’s aircraft had been made of the same material as the blow-up dolls, maybe it could have withstood the onboard gun fire," Tony bantered back, then took a sip of his coffee and looked at his brother, who was visibly skinnier: "So, how have you been in my absence?"
Tommy reached for some nuts and Italian biscuits on the table and tossed them into his mouth, "Pretty good, everyone looks at me as if I’m a rich, capricious fool, but in reality, through my father-in-law and Stephen, Mr. Benjamin Benson’s connections, I took out a lot of loans. Not counting the Soviet Rubles borrowed from East German and Soviet banks by Jim on KeyBank’s behalf through his connections with Army contractor Wilson Block. I may not be able to swallow the entire Murdoch Group assets in America, but the TV network and film company should be no problem. That media monster has become greedier these past years, thinking that the short-term loan interest rates will drop, so he holds over a hundred short-term loans from banks, seemingly waiting for the rates to decrease before converting to longer-term debt holdings..."
"I was just asking about your personal life lately, Tommy. You think I understand any of that stuff you’re talking about?" Tony interrupted him by tossing a hazelnut his way, "I was wrong to boast to you for thirty minutes non-stop about my first experience directing aircraft operations when you asked how I was doing."
He felt Tommy did it on purpose, very likely because during their recent chat when he talked about his experiences on the USS Nimitz, Tommy’s reaction was similar to his own: he was frantically making it clear that he had no interest in serving under his own brother.
"That’s the problem. You’re a Navy officer and you focus on your Navy work; that guy should be focusing on selling newspapers, but now he thinks playing financial games makes money faster and wants to use his media company to treat American banks the same as he did those in Australia and England... I know you don’t understand what I’m saying, but besides you, I don’t really have anyone to talk to. Jim has gone to Germany and the Soviet Union in search of mating opportunities. Benjamin is busy taking care of all the businesses for me. Jason White, Silicon Valley’s famed new rich, is all about the computer industry. Big Eric from the SSD Fraternity went to a geological research institute to be a computer specialist, helping those scientists calculate data on the California fault. My old fraternity president, Charles Salmon, keeps himself busy establishing a foothold with the VOX television network I provided. All the friends who are willing and trustworthy to talk to are all too busy, so I can only say that I’ve been quite bored. I spend most of my time hearing various news, like a thief lying in wait so long he’s covered in cobwebs, with nothing to do but wait." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
Extracting a pack of Camel Cigarettes from Windsor, Tony lit one up and took a drag, "Please, I’m your brother, not one of your business partners. Talk to me about family, not work that sounds even more complicated than directing aircraft operations."
