Final Notice, page 19
More information can be found at www.vitaltech/ vt2.com.
***
Maria considered the news story and felt it set the right tone, establishing interest while dealing with the negatives, as well. She replied to Matt that it was good and fine with her.
***
CHAPTER 21 – THE GUN
Pasadena, California. Both Vince and Miles had continued to make good progress. Miles’ wound was looking good and a very smart red bandana now covered the shaved area of his neck as well as the light bandage over the still obvious stitches, which would dissolve in time. He now had a new harness to use for walks instead of his old collar, and he seemed happy, content and displayed no signs of emotional baggage, even when they approached other dogs on their walks. Of course, the cone had been removed so he had every reason to be happy.
Vince’s bandages had been removed, too, and except for the redness, persistent soreness, and itching around the bite marks, it seemed that his hand was pretty much back to normal. Where Vince and Miles differed was in their minds. Vince was not relaxed when out with Miles, even in the daytime. In fact, he avoided walking in the dark. It wasn’t fear that had hold of Vince, although he wasn’t entirely unafraid. Never far from his consciousness was the attack that he and Miles had endured. And that, in turn, evoked memories of the incident in the mall parking lot, which although minor in comparison, made Vince wonder how much everyday life had changed. He was indignant that there were people out there who were so callous, cruel and … immoral. Vince was no babe in the woods, and he hadn’t been living in a cave, but this was the first time he had ever experienced, first hand, a really brutal physical attack with potentially really serious injuries, or worse. Ominously, too, Vince thought that if he had a gun with him that night, he would have used it without another thought. And so, as soon as he had 100% mobility of his hand, he suggested to Trudi that it was time to call Rueben and get a gun. She agreed.
Vince called Rueben and told him that he and Trudi had their Safety Certificates and were ready to pull the trigger and buy a gun. (He didn’t actually use those words. Rueben would have groaned.) They agreed to go the following morning – being retired had its advantages – and Rueben suggested Turner’s Outdoorsman on Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena. Trudi and Vince would pick him up at 10:00.
In the meantime, Trudi had volunteered to watch Jack for a few hours while Rasha looked for more permanent child care, so she grabbed her guitar and headed out, hoping to get in some more practice for tomorrow’s song circle. So much had happened since last week that she couldn’t believe how fast the time had flown by.
Vince did some last-minute, on-line gun research and took a nap. He was awakened by his cell phone ringing. It was Dr. Parker’s office inquiring about his blood tests, as Pacific Diagnostics didn’t have a record of a recent test. Vince had forgotten all about it and apologized, promising to go tomorrow.
***
The next day Vince and Trudi picked Rueben up to help them become, as Rueben put it, “responsible gun owners.” Rueben had never been in a Prius before and was impressed with the ride and quietness.
Vince added, “And don’t forget about the 50-plus miles per gallon. What do you get in that big pickup of yours?”
“About half that but it keeps me from being laughed at when I go to the station.”
“You’re retired. You don’t go there often, do you?”
“No. I do the occasional training gig. Pays me a few bucks and I get to see old friends and perhaps make a positive impact on the newer recruits.”
Rueben asked them again about their willingness to use a gun if they had to and Vince answered yes, very quickly. Trudi followed with her yes, adding that she hoped she never had to.
Turner’s Outdoorsman was like the gun show plus fishing, but despite the size of the store, all the action was in the gun section, and this wasn’t even the weekend. As they walked to the handgun section, Vince told Rueben that they had looked at some guns and they liked the look and feel of a Glock. Rueben was impressed and agreed that the Glock was an excellent gun. He explained that many of his colleagues used Glocks, primarily because they were dependable. The last thing you needed is a cool looking gun that jammed. They used to be made only in Austria but then some were assembled in Georgia and now some are manufactured in Georgia, as well.
They looked at the Glocks and after both Vince and Trudi handled the different models, they decided on a Glock 19, 9mm, for $519. It was relatively light and small. The young woman serving them, Bethany, added that it had a mild recoil as well. Vince asked if they could get the NRA discount and Bethany answered, “Yes,” as long as they were seniors. She also suggested buying a special NRA one-year membership for $30, instead of the usual $40, and they would each get a free NRA duffel bag. They declined the NRA membership and produced their HSCs and driver’s licenses (flattered that they would be asked to prove their senior status). They completed all the paperwork and Bethany explained that in 10 days they could return to get their gun.
Bethany asked about ammunition and they both looked at Rueben for a suggestion. He confirmed that they still wanted to get shooting range training and recommended that they bring their own ammunition. Rueben felt that the absolute minimum for shooting practice was 50 rounds and suggested that 200 rounds of 124gr FMJ 9mm Ammo by M.B.I., was a good choice. M.B.I. remanufactured ammo using previously-fired brass cartridges. Recycling the cartridges made good sense and both the police and military used remanufactured ammo. 200 rounds at $44.00 was a good buy and it would give them enough for very basic training, with extra for later use.
As they were walking out with their bag of ammo, Vince surprised Rueben by asking about a good holster.
“You know that you can’t carry this gun around with you?” Rueben asked.
Vince hesitated for just a second too long and said, “I know. It was just to keep it clean and covered.”
Rueben made the point that a small gun vault with biometric, or fingerprint, access was the best idea. They started at just under $200. Coded ones were about half that, but he didn’t recommend them because when the pressure was on, remembering a code might not be easy. In either case, he suggested shopping online for the best price and selection. They also discussed shooting range training and Rueben gave them some ideas on good training ranges, adding, however, that he would rather not be involved with their training. As friends, he didn’t want the responsibility of being the one who taught them. He explained, “If this was for hunting, that would be different. But this is about protecting yourself and I don’t want to take that responsibility in case you make a mistake, or something goes wrong. The ranges I suggested are pros.”
Vince and Trudi understood, and they made their way home after making one of the most sobering purchases of their lives, but with only a small package of ammo to show for it. They dropped Rueben off, thanking him sincerely, and drove home. It was all rather anti-climactic. Trudi put together a quick salad for their lunch and then dashed out to look after Jack and perhaps have some time with Rasha for a cup of tea when she returned.
Vince went online again, researching gun vaults, and although the biometric ones were indeed twice the price of the coded ones, he could see the downside of having to remember your code, perhaps in the dark, and under extreme pressure. He selected a couple on Amazon and saved them to discuss with Trudi later on. While he was on the site, he also looked up “holsters,” and one of the choices that came up was “holsters for concealed carry.” He browsed through these, making a number of notes as he went along. He tired again and took a nap.
***
Rasha handed off Jack’s supervision to Trudi as she left to check out a day care center. Trudi enjoyed watching Jack and Jack enjoyed hearing Trudi play and sing. Rasha returned within an hour, triumphantly announcing that she liked the day care center and Jack could start immediately. Rasha had recently been hired as a French tutor by a private school in Glendale and she worked there for three hours a day, three days a week. Trudi and Qasim had been taking shifts watching Jack, but the day care center would take Jack for five hours on each of those days, giving Rasha some breathing room between the lessons and dropping him off/picking him up.
The job was perfect. The school had students from varied backgrounds including African American, Latinos, Asians and a sizeable mix of students of Middle Eastern origin.
The Melhos were doing well and they had been following the recovery of Vince and Miles with great interest and concern. Trudi and Rasha had really hit it off. Rasha loved Trudi’s stories about American life through her music, although, as she explained to Trudi, much of it was universal. On the other hand, in this mutually supportive relationship, Trudi admired Rasha’s strength and calmness, and found her background and history intriguing.
Over a cup of tea, Rasha told Trudi that Vince had asked Qasim to enlist the support of his fellow Uber drivers in watching for the two men with the pit bull, but so far, no one had seen them. The drivers covered a wide area, so hopefully someone would see them sooner or later. Trudi was surprised and a little concerned with this and hoped that Vince wasn’t planning to take the law into his own hands. She expressed her gratitude however and changing the subject, asked if they’d like to meet some of their friends, the Khans and the Martinezes. She was sure that Rasha would like Alma and Doris.
Rasha said they would love to, and they even had a baby sitter for Jack now, as a woman at the day care center offered her services after hours. They didn’t have any evening engagements at the moment but Qasim normally worked three nights a week – Saturday, Sunday and Monday. However, he could usually trade with other drivers. Trudi said she would check with the Khans and Martinezes and let her know. Rasha asked the question that Vince would have hoped she would: “Can I bring anything?” Trudi quickly replied, “Syrian cheesecake?”
***
Trudi went home, excited about her idea to get together with the Khans, Martinezes and Melhos and Vince had just woken up from his nap. Trudi was carrying her guitar and Vince realized that he’d never heard how her song circle had gone. Trudi gave him a quick recap and said she was planning to attend again, that evening. She asked how his hand was and he said better, although it itched and perhaps it was the stress and ordeal, but he was easily tired out. Trudi also gave him an update of her chat with Rasha and asked about his idea of enlisting the Uber drivers to look for the two men and a dog. He deflected any concerns about him turning vigilante and simply told her that it seemed like a good idea to get extra eyes out there. She accepted that and told him of her idea to get everyone together. He liked the idea, especially the part about the cheesecake. He told Trudi about the gun vaults and she told him to get the one he liked best. He didn’t tell her about the holsters.
Trudi got ahold of Alma, who said they were pretty open for the next couple of weeks. She then called Doris and they agreed on a week from Saturday and she confirmed it all ’round. Trudi was really happy to have something so positive to look forward to. The ordeal with Vince and Miles had worn heavily on her. Vince saw the date as the same day he could collect their gun.
***
Trudi had gotten a couple of “Beast Burgers” for dinner, the futuristic vegan burger that actually bled like the real thing. As Vince bit into his, he realized that he had once again forgotten his blood test! He made himself a big note and the next morning he went to the lab where they seemed to want to drain him dry, filling a number of little vials. He hoped Dr. Parker would be pleased.
***
CHAPTER 22 – TWO TESTS
Quincy, Massachusetts. Many doctors hadn’t even gotten around to looking at the VT2 package they had received before their office staff started receiving calls for appointments and questions about the VT2’s availability. Maria’s hunch and Matt’s lead had paid off. When Matt’s story broke, other newspapers, wire services, television networks and cable news picked it up, all across the country. Most had followed Matt’s tone, if not hype, although there were a few cable news and internet news sites that chose to go the alt-fact way. The worst was BrightFahrt, the neo-Nazi site, which ran an editorial by Gyro Spirulinas, “Killer Watch to Level the Playing Field,” where he urged his equally nutcase rightwing followers to kill liberals when they received their Final Notices. That was even too far for a couple of conservative lawmakers!
Vijay called an urgent meeting with his team to discuss increasing the beta test user base so as not to alienate doctors besieged with requests. Wade had been able to push out enough units to increase the first wave to 500, which were scooped up immediately. Drew had sent messages to all the doctors on their distribution list not to accept any new VT2 - related appointments, but the requests had come in so quickly that there were about 2,500 people who had already booked appointments to get their VT2s. In addition, many doctors had backlogs of people wanting appointments, but they had been refused after receiving Drew’s notice. Based on the estimated numbers, they would need another five to ten thousand to cover this demand.
Drew and Patsy were concerned about keeping up with those volumes insofar as test analyses were concerned. They were still in the early stages of hiring additional staff to cope with the rollout volumes. Don and Ganesh were concerned about a suggestion that discount vouchers be issued to those with appointments who would not be getting a beta test watch, thus diluting income. Maria was concerned about staying on top of the large number of press articles. And Liz was concerned that without a controlled rollout and ramp-up, new issues could become really big issues if they weren’t caught and fixed early on. The only person not worried was Wade. He was confident that he could handle the increased demand. Bring it on!
And all of that was Vijay’s concern, as was the risk of poor customer and aftercare service.
They had a good discussion and avoided simply going for volume. It was a good problem to have and they began to make some decisions. The first was that they would keep the beta test to 1,000 users, as originally planned. That would allow Patsy and Drew to control the data analysis of the test results as well as containing unforeseen problems to the thousand-user base. It would also ensure that Zoe didn’t freak out, although Vijay would call her to tell her that they were accelerating the test roll-out.
To assuage the 2,000 people on the waiting list who would not get their watch during the beta test, VitalTech would issue a 50% discount coupon which could be redeemed at whatever the final price was set for when the full rollout began. They felt that was a compelling offer and would take some heat off the doctors. They would also issue up to 5,000 $25 -off vouchers against the full retail price for doctors to distribute to patients who were not able to even get an appointment. Finally, Maria got approval to hire a PR assistant and a full- time secretary.
Drew, feeling relieved, raised the point that throughout the alpha test, the device and app had performed so well that very little software adjustments and zero hardware adjustments had been required. So, if this continued to be the case, the transition from beta test to final rollout could be very short, allowing them to still capitalize on the initial demand.
More satisfying than any other aspect of the discussion was the tangible evidence that they had a winner. Although the team had always been confident about their product, knowing what consumers will buy always carried a risk. They also realized that in addition to managing the beta test, they really needed to gear up for the full rollout.
Vijay thanked the team and called Jennifer to give her an update. She had told Vijay earlier that J. Edward was thrilled with the early demand but that he also appreciated that the growth needed to be controlled.
In the first five minutes of their call, Vijay updated her on their decisions, and Jennifer felt they had done the right thing. She would pass the news along to J. Edward. They spent the next 20 minutes talking about the two of them and when they could see each other again. Vijay wanted to stay close to base, so she decided that their client relationship needed some maintenance and told him she would see him very soon. That news, plus the positive actions from the team meeting, put Vijay in top spirits!
***
Pasadena, California. Vince and Trudi were still drinking their morning coffee when Dr. Parker’s call came in. All he said was I received your blood tests and I need to see you asap. Vince asked why and Parker flatly said, “Just get here asap.”
Vince was concerned but simply told Trudi that it was Dr. Parker and he wanted to see Vince. Trudi was concerned but Vince more or less convinced her that it couldn’t be serious. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and said he’d be back soon.
When Vince arrived at Dr. Parker’s, the receptionist told him to have a seat and that he’d be next. When Vince was sent in, Parker looked at Vince’s hand again. Vince had been scratching it and there were superficial scabs and even some freshly dried blood. Parker asked about the scratching and Vince told him that the area around the wound itched intensely. Parker asked if he had headaches, felt generally weak or had other flu like symptoms. Vince said definitely yes to the headaches but didn’t think he had a fever. Parker stroked an electronic thermometer across his forehead and said, “99.8.” He asked Vince if he felt any anxiety, agitation or confusion. Vince reflected on his behavior and realized that yes, a little of all of that.
