This week has turned from bad to abysmal in the span of two days, which is a new AcMo record. I'm not even sure that we can recover from this. A post that was not ready to see daylight escaped from our secure server and became available to the general public. This post detailed future operations that may have the potential for a huge impact on AcMo's operations. It contained the type of information we cannot afford to allow our competitors to possess. It also makes us look incompetent, but that's another issue.
Security breaches such as this just don't happen here because we have special teams deployed to prevent them. Due to budget constraints, I had to reduce the number of team members for that department. That was a mistake that you only make once. I didn't want to do it, but I couldn't risk losing any of the marketing department because they're too proficient at dirty tricks to send away upset. The reprisal would have been formidable and unrelenting. The personnel cuts had to come from a division no one here knows about or sees. I also had to think of overall employee morale which is starting to increase now that the stupid snake is gone.
When you're in charge of everything, you always have to think about the big picture, and how each small piece fits into it. This is a talent I don't expect lay people to understand or appreciate, but it is one of the reasons this job is so difficult. I know I make it look easy, but I am cranking behind the scenes to do it.
There are times when I've been pulled in too many different directions, and my concentration suffers as a result. This doesn't happen often because I'm adept at tuning out anything I deem irrelevant, but it does happen. No one is perfect. We have a new product in testing that would help people to focus only on what is in front of them, and it would also prevent any interference from nearby mobile devices, but there are still too many bugs to deploy the product in a larger field test. When technology won't do the job, you have to rely on your own wit and skills. When you are a nit or half-wit, you must rely on the skills of someone smarter. Sometimes you have to use a butter knife on a nail because there's nothing else available.
I've laid out this background information in an attempt to create a solid foundation from which I can explain the latest setback to hit AcMo's operations. This one hurts more than most because it will take us a few weeks to recover from the blunder unless a miracle happens. Last night I was forced to take a cab because none of our customer's cars had fuel in them. We do our fuel runs on Fridays, and some vehicles just can't wait that long for their liquid power.
Hailing a cab in this area is difficult under the best of circumstances, so we always call ahead to arrange for a ride. The problem is that some cabbies are reluctant to come to our headquarters under any circumstances, so the dispatcher claims the cab is on the way but it never arrives. They may have heard unfounded rumors about cabs disappearing in the middle of the night without a trace. I still say it is a coincidence that this happens anywhere near AcMo HQ1, but since I can't control where and when aliens decide to procure taxi cabs, I don't have much choice but to deny, deny, deny.
Last night we managed to get a cab to arrive five minutes after calling. That was also a new record. I had some cargo with me, so it took every bit of room in that cab to make everything fit. Long hours spent at the office take their toll on my sleep cycles, so I used the cab ride to relax and get some much needed rest. Big mistake! Now that I think about it, the cab driver never asked me where I was going and I hadn't told the dispatcher when I called to arrange for the ride. Regardless, I awoke to find myself on the sidewalk back at AcMo HQ1! My duffel bags were nowhere to be found. Of course I immediately thought aliens, but they usually drop you off back in the car they abducted you from, or so I've heard.
The problem is that I kind of needed the contents of those bags. Some of it was going to the bank's night drop, and some of it was headed to an off-site secure storage facility as part of our war chest. "It" was $10 million US in unmarked bills. I've sent multiple texts to the alien motherships, but no one up there is responding. I know they know exactly what happened to our money because those things see everything. They are better than our spy satellites and their surveillance and display tech blows 4K TV out of the water--you can't even fathom. I would tell you all what it is called, but I can't pronounce the name or even write it since I don't read or write intergalactic space travel alien language. I'm learning though. I can't figure out why they won't message me back, and it's kind of depressing. I almost feel like they are avoiding me.
This is the second time this week that I've been forced to do some forensic investigating. I don't have the time or energy for this stuff. My exhaustive investigation turned up several promising clues. I found a paint chip on the street that matches the yellow used for cabs in our area. I also found several leaves that indicated the wind was blowing from the East at 7.3 mph at the time of my trip. Going deeper into the scene, I learned that there are upwards of thirty different routes a cab could take when leaving AcMo HQ1 and still end up back where it started without crossing the same street more than once.
All of those wonderful clues lead me straight to the most likely conclusion: there is a slight chance the cab driver gassed me and stole my money. The cab company claims that no drivers within its employ came to our location last evening. I've been looking for holes in their claim, but so far the story is holding strong. That would mean someone intercepted our call and duped me with a fake cab. This was not the first time I've fallen for that trick, but I thought I was better prepared now. I blame my fatigue and lack of concentration for the oversight. Now I've switched myself into full-on awake mode for the duration of the search for our lost goods.
If anyone finds our money, please return it to AcMo as soon as possible. We have products to build and companies to acquire, and that money was essential to the operation. Not only would I be grateful, but I'm willing to offer a $50 cash money or gift card--your choice--reward for the good samaritan who returns our $10 million US. We'll also throw a party and name one of our products after the person who returns the money. What I'm offering is the epitome of an excellent deal. Please don't delay. We need our money back home where it belongs.
No comments:
Post a Comment