After hearing Reese's third condition, Nick took a second to process it before replying, "I can get on board with that, but I'm gonna need the official paperwork from your end. You know how it is—sometimes local players lean on you in ways that are hard to push back against."
"That's standard procedure. Once you sign this deal, you're officially a military contractor. As for those 'local factors' you're worried about? They won't even be an issue," Reese nodded, laying it out for them.
"Cool, I'm all set then," Nick said with a grin.
Reese nodded, grabbed a folder from the major sitting next to him, and slid it over to Nick. "Alright, here's the offer. Give it a look."
Nick and Zack hovered over the document, scanning the fine print. When Nick hit the main figure, he looked up, skeptical. "Sixty million?"
"Heh, keep reading, kid. There's more on the next page," Bill cut in with a chuckle.
Nick went back to the paper as Liam broke it down. "That sixty million is the signing bonus—it hits your account the second the ink is dry. As for the rest, we're splitting it into three chunks: thirty million a year as part of a federal tech-support grant."
Nick's forehead crinkled. Even though the total hit 150 million, it still lagged behind the 200 million quote DJI had put on the table.
Of course, the upside here was that this wasn't a total buyout. As long as Nick and his crew played by the rules, they could still do business with other domestic companies.
But waiting three years for that ninety million—and having it tied up in some "special fund"—felt like a drag.
Nick shook his head at Liam. "That's not gonna fly. Three years is too long. We can do two installments, max, with no more than a year between them. And why the runaround with a grant fund? Can't you just wire the whole thing?"
The whole table across from them burst out laughing.
Liam smiled and clarified, "You won't actually be waiting that long. You'll see the first grant hit almost immediately. The second chunk can go out by February or March of next year. When you do the math, it's really only about eighteen months.
As for the grant structure? It's because the money is coming from two different pots. That first sixty million is straight out of the military budget. The other ninety comes from various federal tech-initiative funds. You follow?"
Lightbulbs went off for Nick. He nodded with a smirk. "Got it. You guys are broke."
The room erupted again. Liam pointed at him, laughing. "You could put it that way. Our discretionary funding is definitely a little tight."
"Alright, here's the final contract. Look it over, and if it looks good, let's make it official," Reese said, handing the stack to Nick.
Nick and Zack dove into the pages. The clauses were dense and loaded with legalese, so they focused on the high-level deal points and the deal-breakers. Once they were sure everything checked out, Nick signed his name.
The tension in the room evaporated instantly.
Bill turned to Nick immediately. "Alright, Nicholas, now that the ink is dry, where's the goods? This kid teased us with it before, and then the files just vanished. I was so ticked I almost took a swing at him."
Everyone laughed at the memory.
Nick rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little sheepish. He reached up, unhooked a pendant from around his neck, and said, "Everything you're looking for is right here."
"You've just been carrying that around?" Liam asked, floored.
"Hey, it's hidden in plain sight. Nobody expects a memory card to be inside a necklace. Plus, I've got it rigged; if anyone tries to force a hack, the card formats itself instantly." Nick smiled, popped the pendant open, and pulled out the tiny card.
Every eye in the room locked onto that little sliver of plastic between his fingers. This tiny thing was worth 150 million bucks. Even the biggest pink diamond on the planet wouldn't be worth this much per carat.
"Get a laptop in here—and don't forget the card reader," Bill barked, his voice sounding a little raw with excitement as he looked at David.
"On it!" David nodded and bolted. He was back in no time with an IBM ThinkPad.
Nick handed the card to David, whose hands were actually shaking a little as he slotted it into the reader and plugged it into the laptop.
"Nicholas, we need the password!"
Nick smiled, took the laptop, and his fingers blurred across the keys for a minute. He handed it back. "I dropped the password in a text file on the desktop. Better save it somewhere safe."
David grabbed the computer, and Liam, Reese, and the rest of the crew crowded around the screen like kids at a candy shop.
Nick just grinned, and he and Zack went back to happily flipping through their copy of the contract.
They waited for about twenty or thirty minutes, but the group was still glued to the screen, whispering and pointing.
Feeling like the odd men out, Nick stood up to head out. "Director Liam, Dr. Dye, Director Davis—if everything looks okay, we're gonna head out."
"Hey, Nicholas, stay for dinner!" Liam said, finally looking up from the data.
Nick waved him off with a smile. "Nah, rain check. Looking at you guys, I don't think food is the first thing on your minds right now. We'll get out of your hair."
"Fair enough. I'll have someone drive you back to the hotel," Liam said with a half-smile, glancing back at the researchers who were still mesmerized by the screen.
After saying their goodbyes, Nick and Zack caught a ride back. The second they hit the room, Zack was on the phone with Tyler, giving the guys back home the play-by-play on the deal.
Nick was riding high on the win, but he wasn't quite as hyper as the other three. He actually had to stop Zack from snapping a picture of the contract to send over the group chat.
It wasn't that he didn't trust the guys; it was just that basic messaging apps aren't exactly secure, and the agreement was loaded with classified info that didn't need to be floating around in the cloud.
Since the sun was still up and they were in a great mood, they swapped their business casual for jeans and tees, ready to hit the town. It was time to actually see the sights, grab some real food, and finally celebrate the win.