Karmal's Saga

Karmal leaned back in her well upholstered seat as the whine of the executive jet lulled her comfortably into a relaxed state.Her racing thoughts continued to race within her mind as she tried to get a firm grasp on her good fortune over the past 2 days when she had been hired by the W_S-T_N Corporation.

Karmal over 3 months ago had escaped from the confines of a Mexican Slave Farm and had sought employment once she returned to the U.S..She had just about been on the point of despair as she got the usual round of ignored résumés, useless interviews and rejection letters from all the companies she applied to.One company H.R. director named Salter told her he was impressed with her and her credentials, but that he simply did not have a position at that time, but would be glad with her permission to forward her resume to some other H.R. directors he knew .Karmal thanked him profusely and told him by all means to do so. She smiled as she thought of the phone call the next day from the H.R. director at W_S-T_N, who sounded so positive as he talked to her, that she somehow knew that this was the one she been looking for all these months.

What she did not anticipate was how rapidly she was hired on the spot the next morning

after an hour long interview and an hour of taking a few written tests.During this process she found that W_S-T_N was involved in security consulting business and served corporate client's worldwide.Mr.Steele, the H.R. director beamed as he invited her back into his office after the tests and told her she had scored the highest in the company history on the executive selection tests and that the CEO himself had reviewed the results and had instructed Steele to hire her on the spot.

‘Now Karmal,this position is that of training coordinator and you will be responsible for scheduling our training teams to go onsite to our corporate client's offices and plants in order to provide security training to the client's employees. It's a very hands on position and yes you will dealing with the airlines and their quirks, but after you hear the compensation for this position, it may not seem quite the set of headaches you think it is.”

With that he handed across the desk an offer letter and Karmal's heart went into her throat as she read that the base salary was $200,000 a year plus stock options, a company furnished car, an unlimited expense account and the opportunity to travel, along with a grocery list of other perks.Mr.Steele allowed her to read over it and then asked “Think we can persuade you to come aboard?”Karmal replied” I would be foolish not to! But I would need a little time to learn this job first wouldn't I?” Steele replied” We'll of course and if you decide to come on board with us, we have a complete training program ready to go at our corporate headquarters, in fact all our new employees undergo training there at corporate headquarters, along with taking care of all the other new employee details, like filling out the paperwork .Also one thing required of each W_S-T_N employee is an annual physical at company expense and that is done at the clinic there at corporate as well.”

Steele paused and leaned over and pulled a four color brochure from his desk drawer

and handed it across the desk and the said” By the way as you can see our corporate headquarters is located on our own tropical island in the Caribbean and the will be plenty of recreation time while you are there.”Karmal looked over the brochure and asked “But why an island and in the Carribean, wouldn't like New York, LA or Chicago make more sense? Steele replied” Yes it would be easier access for our employees, no question of that. But we located corporate there for several reasons, primarily it's far more secure and we can construct our corporate buildings to our specifications rather than putting up with zoning laws and outmoded building codes. In fact our buildings there can withstand a nuclear weapon detonation and still function. Which is a real good idea given the nature of our business.” Steele paused and chuckled” As you can imagine ,when the letters in your corporate name stands for “We Stop Terrorists Now”, it's no surprise that these folks would love to pay us a visit.Karmal replied” Yes ,I can certainly see that, but is it dangerous to be there at corporate, especially outside? Steele shook his head and pointed to the back of the brochure and said “No danger at all as the corporate compound is virtually impenetrable, we invested heavily in state of the art anti-intruder fencing

and even if the bad guys get inside this ring of fences, they will not get far inside the building as we have internal security gates inside the building as well .But you will see all that when you go for the training, that is if you are ready to accept out offer?”Karmal quickly signed the offer letter and then delighted Mr.Steele with the fact that she no family ties and that she had been on a week to week arrangement with her landlord in case she did have to move after landing a job.”In fact Mr.Steele,I can be ready to go in the morning if that is not too soon”Steele replied”Why that will work perfectly as the corporate jet will be here overnight”Mr.Steele then thanked her warmly then told her a corporate limousine would be by her place at 9 AM the next morning to pick her up and take her to the corporate hangar.

Karmal was bumped awake as the jet went through a patch of turbulence and the very attentive flight attendant appeared beside her seat and suggested she fasten her seat belt, then asked politely if she could get her anything.Karmal thanked her and then continued to doze and thought of the contrast between her life now where it seemed these folks were all giving and that of just a few weeks ago where the Mexicans were determined to take and take and then take some more. She tried to shake the images from her mind, but they still came bubbling up time and again as she adjusted to her life of freedom.