2013.10.10 - Explosion at Hammer Industries

Today has not been the easiest of days. Things started out with a board meeting to discuss the current government upsets and how it's disrupting business at Hammer Industries. Despite what Justin Hammer had told Lois at city hall a couple days previous, the government shutdown is impacting his business. The federal revenue from the military contracts has stopped for the time being, leaving spending stretched tight. At least it's close to the end of the fiscal year, and so the budgets were already pretty much dried up and spending was relatively low. Still, if things continue on their current path, the pickings could end up pretty slim.

Naturally, it was brought up that HI needs to shift it's focus from military government contracts to more civilian work, a sensitive subject with the CEO. For many years Hammer has resisted putting more of the company's time and resources into purely civilian interests and markets. Feeling that shifting the company's focus would compromise the quality and advancement of their primary products, Justin limited his civilian products to security and offshoots of military projects. Along with that concern, Hammer also knows that the civilian consumers wouldn't put up with the rushed projects and faulty outcomes that the government seems to tolerate, so it's somewhere he doesn't want to tread unless he absolutely has to.

And frankly, Hammer just refuses to build video game consoles. Not gonna happen.

So with the board meeting having stretched through the morning and setting the tone for the rest of the day, Justin's mood wasn't exactly stellar. He ranted and rambled through pretty much all of lunch, a sign of his sour disposition, and he hasn't let up since arriving back at the HI administration building. The dedicated 20th floor elevator stops, the doors opening as the indicator dings. "...I'm tellin' ya, it's just not the way to go. I mean, look at LexCorp. do you really, honestly, trust a weapon built by the same company that builds game systems? What are they gonna do, fire on the enemy then tell them to fall over dead because that's how the game works? Hell, if it worked like that, they would all just respawn anyway." Justin sighs as he steps off the elevator, walking toward his office. This is probably the dozenth time he's said basically this same thing since the board meeting that morning, and now he's really just beating a dead horse. He looks toward his personal assistant to see if she has any input, even though they have been over this same subject many times already.

Fern has listened sympathetically, not having very much to offer except for understanding and willingness. Still, over the time that Justin has been ranting, she's been pondering the situation. She understood enough of the meeting that she was taking notes at, and she grasps the fact that the company is very heavily invested in the creation of weapons. It's not until they pass Liz's desk, with Fern offering a reserved greeting in deference to Justin's mood, and are heading for his office that she speaks up with a thought. "Don't some companies make whole 'nother divisions, so that there's some form of separation in what they make?" She can't give any examples, but she's sure she's heard of the practice. "If you did that, couldn't you placate the board and still turn some focus to civilian products?"

Justin walks across his office, heading over toward the wet bar that sits behind the small conference table on the left side. He starts rifling through the coffee supplies he keeps there, next to the expensive alcohols in the glass cabinet, and starts making a mug of some sort of flavored coffee. Even though he seems distracted, he hears Fern's words loud and clear. "That's a fairly common practice, yes," he replies, looking back toward the redhead as the single-cup coffee maker hisses and brews up the caffeinated beverage. "At this point I think it would be easier to buy an established company than to split off a division. But, as you heard, that's not gonna happen any time soon."

Fern leans lightly on the edge of Justin's desk while he's futzing with his coffee, a thoughtful frown on her face. "No, buying an established company won't." The words come slowly as she keeps mulling over the problem. "Alright, so if you absolutely had to split off a division, couldn't you start it small and let it work it's own way up, sort of? Would the guys in the suits be happy with that?" Nevermind that Justin is a guy in a suit, he's not the same thing. Not to Fern, anyway.

Justin's impatience is what is barring him from doing just that. The subsidiaries that HI owns were all purchased or otherwise acquired, even though Hammer is more then capable of building a division and making it successful. He just doesn't want to take the time to do that. After adding cream and sugar to his coffee, Justin turns and heads toward his desk. The comment about guys in suits causes him to pause for a second, tilting his head slightly before he shakes it off. "They would likely find a reason to complain about that-" The statement is cut off when the phone on the desk rings. Stepping around his desk the CEO checks the display, and furrows his brow. Why is security calling him? Picking up the receiver, he answers, "Hammer... Wait, what? Why? No, no, I wanna come down and talk to him. I'm tired of this sort of stuff happening. This is the second time in less than a month we've had a breach like this." The suited man rubs his forehead in frustration his tone sharp but still low.

As Justin moves to his desk, Fern turns, still leaning, still frowning lightly. Her eyes drop to the phone when it rings, although she can't see the display, then lift to watch Justin as he picks it up. The CEO's words make her immediately think of 157 and his little security breech, but she'd just seen him a couple days ago and he seemed quite clear that he wasn't to return to HI without Justin's prior consent. Fern keeps quiet while Justin's on the call, straightening to stand, ready to follow him wherever he's going to go. Although sometimes it's a little hard to keep up with his long, hurried stride with her shorter legs and in heels.

There's another pause, then, "I'll be right down." The handset of the phone is set back into it's cradle with a bit more force necessary, and Justin straightens up. "I think this time we really are going to need HR," he says to Fern, trying to keep his tone level. "Intern tried to remove a laptop from the building. I am going down there to handle the situation. I'm really getting tired of people not stopping to think about things before they do them." Like Hammer is one to talk, he's made a lot of snap decision that haven't turned out so well. He starts toward the door to his office. "Have HR meet us at the building 5 security gate." Chances are Fern isn't going to talk him down this time.

It's actually that control that tells Fern that Justin is pretty unhappy about this. The impact of the receiver on the phone's cradle aside, he's entirely too calm. She can practically feel him seething. Stepping after him, Fern pulls her phone from a holder hanging from the belt at her waist, tapping quickly to bring up the HR department. Her voice is soft as she speaks, "This is Fern. We'll need a HR rep at the building 5 security gate." There's a pause, and her response to the question posed is a terse, "Yes, immediately." She gives no room for argument, immediately thumbing her phone off and slipping it back in the holder. Cradling her tablet, she's a few steps behind Justin as they get to the elevator. Liz's questioning look gets a brief head shake from Fern.

There's really no reason that the CEO of the company needs to go down and personally handle an issue with an intern. The fact that security, by his orders, called him about this is just a testament to his control issues. Justin covers the distance between his office and the elevator in fast strides, turning sharply once he's in the elevator car. He doesn't say anything to Fern, which is rather unusual, staying silent for the ride down to the main level and during the short cart ride between the administration tower and the building 5 security checkpoint.

Building 5 is a civilian engineering lab complex. The building is multilevel, and has a large lobby area where there's a security check for employees and visitors both entering and leaving the building. Unlike the military buildings, the lobby of Building 5 has several displays showing off various technologies that HI has brought to the market. The security check is near the doors, and standing near a scanner are two uniformed security officers, one plain-clothes supervisor, and a young man. The young man looks very nervous, and is no more than college age. The intern in question. The only thing that keeps Justin from crashing through the doors in a dramatic fashion is the fact that he has to stop and scan his ID badge to unlock the doors. Slipping the card back into an inside pocket of his suit coat he steps into the building and starts straight for the security checkpoint.

Fern doesn't attempt to break the silence during the short trip. It's not that she thinks he'd turn on her, but that it clearly wouldn't do any good at this moment. Apprehensive, she follows behind Justin, walking quickly to keep up with his measured steps. As they near security she spies the young man, somewhere near her own age. There's a sigh and Fern's lips press together, brow furrowing.

The young man seems to shrink back, looking frantically between the security men and the approaching CEO. Fern catches his eye and he blinks, not counting on such a young looking woman to be in the mix. Justin takes a deep breath as he draws up on the group at the checkpoint. He stops, letting a very uncomfortable silence fall over the gathering for a moment as he brushes back his suit coat and puts both hands on his hips. "You do realize," he says finally, voice oddly flat, "That this is the second security breach in this building in less than a month. Two, two in less than a month. Can someone, anyone, tell me how that's even mildly acceptable?"

The intern actually takes a chance on answering the rhetorical question. "Sir, I just wanted to try and work on this while I was at lunch. We're running behind schedule, so I thought it would be alright to take the computer with me, I was just going to the cafeteria in the main building."

Fern stops a few steps behind Justin, and off to his side, her eyes on him as she waits for him to speak. He was angry when 157 was discovered, and this seems to be another level entirely. She's not sure whether to keep quiet or try and intervene, opting for quiet, at least for now. To her, it's a totally plausible explanation, she doesn't think the intern looks shifty. The young woman half turns, looking back toward the door, willing HR to get there and at least break the storm before it flares too badly.

The intern's response gets a strange reaction- a stressed grin and a light chuckle. The CEO shakes his head lightly. "Ah, got it, got it," Hammer replies, looking down then back up toward the target of his anger. "You weren't going to leave the complex, just head over to the cafeteria. In the main building. The main building, which is... not... secured." Now Justin's voice starts to harden and the volume raises slightly. "Were you, or were you not briefed on the security regulations of this building? Were you, or were you not told that any and all equipment, including laptops and data, are not to be taken out of the buildings? If everyone was allowed to just take whatever they wanted, where ever they wanted, we would never be able to keep track of our resources and keep what we have secured. Do you want I should go over to your house, grab your computer, and drag it out somewhere where you don't know where it is?" By the time his rant reaches this point, Hammer is pretty much yelling.

The intern? He stands there, rigid as a board, eyes wide, in silence. The security men presence make eye contact with no one, not even each other.

The chuckle makes Fern cringe inside, because she's heard that sound before. Just because she's perpetually good-natured (or so it seems) doesn't mean she hasn't been around people with a temper. Specifically, the middle brother in her family. She tilts her head, watching Justin, figuring him yelling is better than him having a stroke. And he does have something of a point, if not the best way of conveying it. There are very strict rules. The last thing he says, about taking the intern's computer, is so like her brother that she has to work to stifle a grin. At least she's behind Justin still.

There's another deathly silence across the large lobby of the building. Justin puts his hands back on his hips after accenting his rant with no shortage of hand gestures and looks at the intern, then each of the security personnel in turn. After another tense moment, the CEO looks toward the plain clothes security officer, who is likely a supervisor. "Take his badge," he says raising his right hand and snapping his fingers with a flick of his wrist. "You're done. I can't afford to have anyone in this facility who can't follow the procedures we have in place," Hammer tells the young man. At least the yelling part seems to be over with. For the moment.

The security supervisor steps forward, toward the college aged kid, and holds out his hand. The young man doesn't comply right away, instead looking toward the CEO and taking another chance. "Sir, please, can we talk about this? I swear, it won't happen again." He needs this internship.

Fern's momentary amusement is gone as quickly as it came, and she sobers once again. She's never seen Justin this angry before, but it seems he's at least gotten that much out of his system. The young woman can't help but feel sympathetic toward the intern, she can almost hear the desperation in his voice. Still, she winces because she knows this isn't the time to try and talk things over. Not in her experience with her brother, and she imagines it might be the same with Justin. She turns to look toward the doorway again, and is rewarded with the sight of one of the HR representatives just reaching the door. Before Justin can wind up again, Fern takes the chance that he might turn that anger on her, relying on their friendship to at least give him pause. She steps forward, her voice low and measured as she says, "Mister Hammer. HR is here."

"It shouldn't have happened the first time," Justin snaps back at the intern, who cringes at the words. The new voice grabs his attention, and he looks quickly at Fern. Looking back over his shoulder, toward the doors, he sees the brunette walking toward the gathering. "Excellent," he says to no one in particular, before focusing on his PA once again. It starts to sink in that he lost his temper in front of Fern, a first since she started working for the company. Well, that really didn't take long. "Can you please brief HR on the situation?" he asks, his voice very clearly restrained. He doesn't trust himself to not go off again, so he actually relinquishes some control of the situation.

The employees who put their money on 'before her first paycheck' in the pool aren't going to make anything on this, but the ones who chose 'less than three weeks' have just made the deadline. When Justin's eyes return to her, Fern waits for his instructions, looking placid amidst the previous minutes of turmoil and holding his gaze steadily. "Absolutely, Mister Hammer," she replies to his question... and it was a question, not an order. Complete with a please. Fern turns and steps over to meet the HR liaison, speaking quietly but clearly to the woman. Her words don't quite carry, but the tone is steady and calm. She explains quickly and succinctly, then steps aside and turns so the woman can move in and do her HR thing. There's a moment where her eyes linger on the intern, looking small and cowed, and she gives just a bare nod of her head to him.

Once the HR representative walks past Hammer and takes over the situation, the CEO turns away from the group. He rubs at his forehead, and starts back toward the doors. "Jesus," he mutters under his breath. Slowly the anger is starting to reside, but it's clear he's still hot under the collar. Now that HR is handling things, he can withdraw with confidence that the offending intern will still be escorted from the building. There's nothing else he can do at this point anyway.

Fern's attention returns to Justin as he walks away from the situation, and she falls into step with him. She doesn't link arms with him, they're at work and there's a difference between Mr. Hammer and Justin, but she does walk close enough to bump him lightly with her elbow. She looks sideways at him, and says softly, "Hey." That's it, until they clear the doors and are away from any ears. Then she asks, "You alright?" It's a gentle, concerned inquiry.

There's a clear break in Hammer's stride when Fern's question hits his ears. He slows, looking back at her with a confused expression. It's pretty clear that no one has ever asked him that question while at work, and especially not after he just ripped into a defenseless intern for what could be considered a very minor offense. "Uh, yeah, yeah, fine," he answers, not really sure how to respond. Well no, he's not really alright, he just let his temper get out of hand again and fired a kid in front of Fern, who he had sworn he wouldn't lose his temper in front of.

Fern is just as sympathetic to Justin as she would be to the intern if she had the chance, and with no one immediately around them she puts her hand lightly on his arm. "It's been a bad day. I know how things can build up, when they're coming one thing right after another." She has a temper too, although it's not so spectacular. Hey, she's been known to poke people in the chest!

Just when Justin thought that Fern couldn't surprise him any more, she does it again. He had fully expected her to think poorly of him for having lost his temper. "Yeah, yeah it is," he replies. He's oddly short of words, and has had to fall back on using the same one several times. He gets back into the cart, which is still parked in front of building 5, and looks far more tired than angry now.

Settling in the cart next to Justin, Fern nudges him again. "You have one more appointment this afternoon. Why don't I reschedule it, and we can go make the day better. Cannoli?" It's not an important meeting, some papers that need going over, but since it's from the legal department it might be smarter to avoid that right now. Justin doesn't like legal on a good day.

Justin looks over at the nudge before he pulls the cart away from the building. The first part of the statement makes his posture slump almost imperceptibly before all of it finally registers. "Yeah," there's that word again- "Cannoli sounds good." He guides the little electric cart back toward the administration building, which is a relatively short trip.

"As soon as we hit those gates, I'm off the clock," Fern says. "I want to spend the rest of the day with my friend, not my boss." She falls silent for a minute, and they're almost back to the main building when she says, "Hey, is your boat still in the water?" While she doesn't know a lot about boats, she's pretty sure most people take theirs out for the winter.

"Works for me. Can I be off the clock too?" Justin says as they make their way back to the admin building. Pulling into a covered port in the rear of the building, he parks and climbs out of the small vehicle. "Uh, yeah, it is. Why wouldn't it be?" It's a whole lot harder to pull a 104-foot yacht out of the water for the winter than your average small craft.

Fern grins at Justin's question, nodding her head, "I wouldn't have it any other way. No more work for us today." She's a firm believer that people do better work when they aren't feeling pressured by it, and sometimes some time off is what does it. "Some people take their boats out of the water." She's got no concept of bigger or smaller boats. "So why don't we get some cannoli, maybe some lasagna, and lets go sit on the boat and watch the sun set?"

That was sort of unexpected. Justin smiles slightly. "No taking the yacht out of the water for the winter, not without a lot of effort. But alright, that sounds like a plan I can stand behind." He sighs, and looks toward the building. "Just need to lock up the office, let Liz know I'm out for the rest of the day, and we can be off. Want to call Jack, have him bring the car around?"

"I'll call him on the way up, and I'll grab my bag and sweater while you close up shop. After I call Jack, I'll shuffle your appointment." She can also call ahead and get an order placed so she'll just have to run in and get it on the way. "It'll be nice to have some peace and quiet." Fern takes care of the details while she's still in assistant mode, but, true to her word, as soon as they're out the gate it's back to friends. Sitting on the top deck of the boat, Fern lifts up her glass and the sun settles into the water. "Here's to today being over."