This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by Vincent Le Roy (
): LE DOSSIER VALMY (Thriller) : Chapitre 9
As my primary language is not English, there are probably some mistakes in my translation.
Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (
), but Vincent Le Roy (), a French guy.
Chapter 9: The Polish campaign
Their lawyer is also interested in the Polish campaign. The questions are raining. I try to remember every detail. The computer in front of me, I justify my answers by email. He does not fail to ask for a copy each time. And I print.
I have no problem showing that the production worked and that the foams were technically perfect. And I add each time that Alex could do it too since it is the same machine and the same products. I pass on the psychological side of the Polish episode. He does not need to know everything. And yet there is plenty to show and tell ...
At the end of March 2006, I arrive in Poland. The "Polish" came to pick me up. He is a French doctor of chemistry who has worked for a long time in our field. We know him well. He was for 15 years the technical director of a French company that could be described as a competitor. Five years ago, he married a young Polish woman and lives off his severance pay.
His savings are almost gone and he is looking for something to do. That's good, I'm looking for a competent partner who can manufacture cheaply. The synergy was obvious but we must put everything in place. VALMY finances everything.
He rented a large local. In a corner, under industrial cellophane, there is the machine that arrived from France the day before. The chemists used it last month to refine the formula that I must implement. Clearly, I just have to connect some pipes, fill the tanks and program the mixture that must flow in the large mold.
The mold is there too. 2 meters long and 1 meter wide, this is a mini container that opens on the sides to release the block of foam. Resins and acids are in a corner. Blenders in front. Let's go to work! The machine is quickly connected. I have known it by heart for 4 years. And it has been everywhere! I turn it on. The tanks are supposed to be empty, with a small amount of glycol at the bottom. This is the procedure. I just have to empty the 15 liters of glycol and then load the resin. I press the stirring button of the tanks.
Boom, the breaker jumps. I watch my partner a little surprised.
- Are you sure there is enough power?
- Ah yes! you have twice what you asked me ...
I reset and press the shake button again. And reboom. Oh, that's not normal. I tell myself that a valve may be glued and that a good hammer will solve the problem. I climb on the tank and I open it ... The tank is full! But full of resin. The bastards, they did not rinse the tank. The resin has become solid and everything is blocked. I understand that all pipes and pumps are also full of resin ...
I realize right now that I'm not ready to leave. It will be necessary to completely disassemble the machine, remove the almost solid resin, clean everything with acetone and concentrated soda. Chisel and hammer too. I need tools. Pliers. And of course, there is nothing in the Polish warehouse. It was not planned to do mechanics! I call Kojak to inform him of the situation. At the other end of the line, he cuts short the discussion:
- As usual, Vincent, as usual, it's the fault of others ... You can bloody well sort it out yourself.
But shit really! They know they must rinse the machine after each use. They earn 6000 net per month! At this price, they should act professionally. I still do not understand that it is a deliberate sabotage and that the war has begun. I call Denis too. He is as scandalized as me. He asks me to evaluate the situation. Yes, it is fixable but it is at least fifteen days of work and without guarantee. I have nothing on hand. I have to buy everything then on all fours, by 4 degrees Celsius, clean and clean again.
Denis especially decided to spare me. It is a little later that he will tell me what is happening in France and that I do not know. And while I'm starting to dismantle this fucking machine, in the middle of the acetone vapor, Amiens is in a state of siege. The chemists have gone on strike. They do not want to work anymore. They even met Alex and Mathieu on the sly. Denis and Kojak have arrived in the laboratory urgently. 4 hours of meeting where everything goes. And of course, the person who is responsible for everything is me. Except for Denis, who listens dumbfounded.
During this meeting I do not know, Denis will learn that Kojak met CPCU. He told them that the products were not ready and that orders had to be postponed. Kojak also cancels Brussels. And he wants to know where the subsidies are ... He asked for a tax investigation because he suspects me of practicing a VAT scam.
In the cold and 4-legged, far from the battlefield, I begin to understand that they are fucking the company. My only chance of getting out is to make and deliver CPCU. Bring in any cost. Without cash, I'm dead. And find out who benefits from the crime. Who pulls the strings? And why?
I will not be long to know but for now, I am in Poland to clean the machine and gradually, I restart it. 20 hours a day, with rabies in the stomach, I clean, I scratch. Day in and day out, I get up at 5:00. I work without gloves because I do not have time. At 20:00 I stop and I empty one to two bottles of red wine. After a fortnight, the first block of foam is poured! Everything is in working order, I recovered what was supposed to be irretrievable. if I had been told one day that I would do mechanics at this point, I think I would have laughed. Well, I did it. My hands red from soda burns as a bonus.
Proud of the accomplished accomplishment, I return to Paris where everyone is waiting for me for a meeting. The last chance meeting according to Kojak. I have seen this e-mail from one of the chemists and who says:
"We have taken note of the agenda: the organization's update and monthly updates."
It's finished playing. I took my decision. Even though I have hatred and rage, I'm going to play dumb one last time and let them scream. What I want to know is who is behind all this ... and what they will try to make me swallow.
No more playing! And this is also the case of Alex's lawyer who surrenders. From Friday night actually. In the afternoon, I handed him the master document on the use of the machine and the production of blocks in French and in English. Because at the same time that I clean, I record everything and I wrote the manual. Of course, I sent it to his client with the accompaniment: "Your turn". And I give him Alex's terse answer: "Thank you very much." The technology exists despite the sabotage and I transferred it in time while manufacturing for my clients.
Then, the lawyer understood. He understood that he would not tell me anything more than he could entrap me. He also understood that everything he wrote to prepare for the trial is a web of lies and that we will have no trouble winning this case. He finally understood that his client is not only dumb in the first sense of the word, but very dumb.
He tells us that there will be some more questions on Monday but it will be over for lunch. He mostly needs time to find something. Good luck buddy. And now it's too late, even if you do not want to hear the story, I'll tell you anyway. Because the war alone deserves an entire book as it is so incredible ...
Continue to Chapter 10
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6
Chapter 7 - Chapter 8
