The day after Felix personally selected the sites for the orphanage and school in Five Points, a silent selection process quietly began within his business empire. The executor was Catherine O'Brien.
Catherine knew very well that she needed to find a reliable shadow for Felix, someone who could keep pace with his terrifying speed and handle all the trivial matters behind him.
Thus, a notification letter, personally signed by Catherine and issued in the name of the Argyle Executive Committee, was sent to the president's offices of all subsidiaries under Argyle.
The wording of the letter was very cautious.
"...To align with the next phase of the head office's strategic development, a 'Senior Management Reserve Talent' selection plan is now being initiated. All presidents are requested to recommend one to two young employees or junior supervisors from within their respective companies whom they believe possess the greatest potential and the highest loyalty to the company. Please send their detailed personnel files to my office within two days."
This memo triggered a small earthquake in the highest echelons of various companies.
Everyone who received the letter knew that this was by no means an ordinary internal promotion. Otherwise, there would be no need to issue it under the name of the Executive Committee... In Chicago, at the Metropolitan Trading Company's President's office.
Bill looked at the memo from New York headquarters, his eyes showing contemplation. Although he disliked office politics, he knew that the importance of this matter was no less than a million-dollar beef order.
The first person he thought of was his chief buyer, Caleb. That former cowboy was both loyal and shrewd, capable of dealing with the most difficult ranchers. But Bill quickly dismissed this idea. Caleb was a wolf of the prairie; locking him in a New York office would only dull all his claws.
"Mr. Bill?" His secretary, an efficient middle-aged woman named Martha, noticed his dilemma. "Are you troubled about the recommendation?"
"Yes, as you can see." Bill admitted frankly, "The Boss needs someone who can handle big matters for him. The guys under me either only know how to deal with cattle, or only know how to do accounting. It's really a headache."
Martha hesitated before speaking, "Perhaps you could consider that young man from the purchasing department, Peter Gray."
"Gray?" Bill had some impression of the name; he was a quiet young man who always kept his head buried in stacks of documents.
He couldn't help but frown in doubt, "Can he do it?"
Martha organized her thoughts, flipping to a page in the document she held. "He's only been with the company for a year, but all purchasing contracts from Kansas and Nebraska are finally verified by him before reaching your desk. He has never made any mistakes."
Martha then added, "And during the last co-op crisis, he was the first to discover anomalies in the cash flow from those chaotic purchasing reports and alerted Mr. Caleb."
A hint of surprise flashed in Bill's eyes; he hadn't really looked into that matter carefully.
It seemed he had to re-examine this name, which he usually hadn't paid much attention to... In New York, at Argyle Empire Bank.
President Templeton attached great importance to this recommendation, seeing it as an opportunity to solidify the bank's position within the entire system. He convened his two deputies for a secret discussion that lasted an entire afternoon.
He said to his most trusted chief loan officer, "Finch, it seems that after Catherine became President of Umbrella, the Boss now needs someone who can understand his grand strategy and translate it into concrete steps."
"I agree with you, sir." Finch responded, "This person must have an innate sense for risk like us, but also not be constrained by it. He needs to have a broader perspective."
Ultimately, their attention focused on a young man in the Investment Analysis Department.
Leander Scott, twenty-six years old, was a recognized young talent at Argyle Bank. Before the collapse of Knickerbocker Bank, he was one of the few analysts who publicly expressed pessimism by analyzing its balance sheet. Templeton personally recruited him when rebuilding the bank.
"He's the one, then." Templeton made his decision. "Scott has the brains of Wall Street, but not the greed of Wall Street. He understands the rules but isn't bound by them. Recommending him to the Boss is probably the most suitable choice."
...A week later, five initially screened, top-tier candidate files lay on Catherine's desk.
In addition to Peter Gray from Chicago and Leander Scott from Argyle Bank, there was also a young engineer recommended by Charles Reeves, who had successfully designed a new type of sleeper fastener that could greatly improve the efficiency of track laying.
And Jones recommended the old foreman, Sullivan. The reason for the recommendation was just one sentence: "He can take a bullet for the Boss."
The last file was Catherine's own choice: Edward Frost, a junior supervisor in Umbrella's Supply Department. A young man with a Yale University degree, fluent in multiple languages, and quiet and efficient in his actions.
As for Militech and Patriot Investment Company, they were not currently under consideration.
Catherine looked at these five files. Behind each name, a different quality was represented: loyalty, intelligence, innovation, courage.
But she understood very well that a paper resume was always only half the story. And what others said was, after all, what others said.
That afternoon, she personally went to the office of Flynn, the head of intelligence.
"Flynn." Catherine placed copies of the five files on his desk. "The Boss needs a 'shadow.' And the selection of a shadow cannot only happen in the sunlight."
Flynn's face was expressionless; he just listened quietly.
"Based on the Boss's instructions, I need you to conduct the most comprehensive and in-depth background investigation on these five people on the list."
"I've divided it into two phases."
"Phase one: work observation." She explained, "You send a few people who look like ordinary clerks to blend into their respective companies. I need a detailed observation report. How do they work under pressure? How do they interact with colleagues? Do they like to take credit, or do they work silently?"
"And phase two requires secrecy." Her voice dropped slightly. "That's their private life."
"This is your specialty, Flynn. Investigate everything they do after work. Where they drink, who they play cards with, whether they have gambling debts, whether they have lovers we don't know about. What are their family relationships like? Do they have siblings working for our opponents? In short, we need to know if there are any potential weaknesses, even the smallest ones, that could be exploited."
Flynn picked up the list and read it carefully.
"No problem, Miss Catherine, the Boss has already instructed me." He said slowly, "But it will take some time."
"One month." Catherine gave the deadline. "There is only one requirement for this matter—absolute secrecy and absolute accuracy."
Flynn nodded and put the list into his locked drawer.
"I understand."