Chapter 24: The Deal is Done
The sound of the pen scratching across the paper was the loudest noise in the room. It was mid-afternoon in Seattle, late June 1940. The heavy curtains in the Boeing boardroom were drawn against the bright summer light, making the room feel like a sealed vault.
William Allen, the CEO of The Boeing Company, had just signed the final paper.
It wasn't just one paper; it was a stack of papers so thick they felt like a book. There were papers for the loan transfer, officially making the Continental Investment Bank (Continental) the only creditor. There were papers for the capital injection, detailing how $7 million in new cash would flow into Boeing's accounts immediately. And there were the equity papers, which gave Continental a 10% ownership share in the whole company.
When Allen lifted the pen from the paper, he didn't look up. He didn't look at Elias Thorne, and he certainly didn't look at Arthur Vance, the junior assistant standing silently against the wall. He simply looked defeated. He had saved his company, but he had lost a large part of it to a newcomer.
Elias Thorne, who had done the speaking and the negotiating, felt a wave of powerful relief. He had won. The biggest deal of his life was complete. But even his excitement was small compared to the silence of the defeated board.
The New King of the Room
The board meeting did not end with cheers. It ended with a slow, grinding realization of what had just happened.
The men around the table were all powerful. They were leaders in industry, finance, and engineering. But in the space of one hour, they had been completely and perfectly captured.
Continental was their supplier (from the M&A department's first acquisition). They had to go to Continental to get the crucial landing gear for the B-17 bomber. Without that gear, the planes could not fly, and the contracts would be worthless.
Continental was their lender (from the S&T department's power move). They owed Continental $17.5 million. Elias had promised a fair, easy term, but everyone knew who held the real power now. If Continental ever wanted to squeeze, they could.
And now, Continental was their partner (from the Capital Raising department's successful offer). They owned 10% of the company. That 10% gave them a seat at the table. It gave them a say in every major decision, every budget, and every new product.
They were not just a partner; they were a three-headed monster.
One of the older board members, a man named Mr. Thompson, slowly pushed his chair back and stared at Elias.
"Mr. Thorne," Thompson said, his voice low, "with all due respect, I have been working in finance for forty years. I have seen great men make great moves. But to come from nothing, to be denied once, and then to capture this company in the space of three months... It is unheard of."
Thompson looked toward the junior assistant, Arthur Vance. He saw nothing but a calm, serious young man, holding a briefcase. But Thompson was a man of instincts. He knew that the kind of perfect pressure that had been applied was not the work of a nervous lawyer like Elias.
"It was a very good plan," Thompson concluded quietly. "We had no choice."
Arthur met the man's gaze for a single second and then looked away. He did not want praise. He did not want attention. The rule was clear: Avoid the spotlight at all costs. Elias was the hero; Elias was the face. Arthur was the ghost in the machine.
Elias, taking the credit he had earned through his courage, spoke with authority. "We believe in Boeing, Mr. Thompson. We did not come here to destroy. We came here to build. Now, let's go start building."
The Flight Home
The Continental team—Elias, Arthur, and the small legal assistant who had flown with them—left Seattle that night. The flight back to New York was long. Elias finally allowed himself to celebrate.
"We did it, Arthur," Elias said, leaning back in his seat, the tension pouring out of him. "We are partners with Boeing. That company will be worth billions in three years. We won."
He looked at Arthur, who was studying the flight manifest with complete attention.
"Arthur? Are you not happy?"
Arthur looked up. He was happy, but his happiness was quiet, analytical, not loud and emotional.
"The prize is secured, Elias. That is good. But winning the deal is the end of Phase Four. Now, the machine must work. Now, we must earn the money."
Elias shook his head in amazement. "You are the strangest young man I have ever known. We just did a deal that will make us rich for life, and you are already thinking about next Tuesday."
"The war has started, Elias," Arthur said, his eyes distant as he looked out the small plane window at the black night sky. "The war is the greatest economic event in history. We have just bought the company that will build the key weapon of the war. We didn't win a business deal; we secured a generational position. We just made Continental Bank permanent."
Elias settled down, accepting Arthur's view. "So, tell me again. How did we win? I mean, really win? I thought we were dead when they said no the second time."
The Four Pillars
Arthur used the quiet time on the flight to give Elias the final lesson. He drew a diagram on a napkin—four boxes connected by arrows.
"This bank is a weapon, Elias. It has four parts, and they must all work together, like four gears in an engine."
1. Department 1: Research (The Eyes)
"This is the brain," Arthur explained, tapping the first box. "We don't move until we know everything. Research told us two vital facts: First, Boeing needed capital for the B-17. Second, they had a single point of failure—the landing gear supplier. We had to find the weakness."
2. Department 2: M&A (The Lever)
"This is the tool for pressure," Arthur continued, tapping the second box. "When they rejected our money, we didn't offer more money. We didn't beg. We used the M&A division to buy the landing gear company. That purchase gave us leverage. It forced them to talk to us again."
3. Department 3: Capital Raising (The Offer)
"This is the face, the handsome, helpful partner," Arthur said. "This team's job is simply to present the clean, professional offer. To say, 'We have the money you need.' They failed initially, but their offer gave us a defined prize: 10% equity. We knew exactly what we were fighting for."
4. Department 4: Sales & Trading (The Sword)
Arthur tapped the last box, the one he had drawn with the sharpest lines. "This is the hammer. When the rival bank tried to kill Boeing with a rumor and a loan call, we had to stop thinking about partnership and start thinking about war. We used S&T to buy their loan. Why? Because S&T works quickly. It buys and sells risk. That move gave us absolute control—we became the supplier and the lender in one day."
He looked at Elias, who was staring at the napkin as if it held the secret map to a treasure.
"We used the M&A division to get into the meeting. We used the S&T division to kill their only enemy and save them from bankruptcy. Once they were safe, they were grateful, cornered, and out of options. Capital Raising simply walked in and signed the papers that the other three departments had already won."
"It's beautiful," Elias whispered, a profound respect in his voice. "A perfect, cold machine."
The Next Step
By the time the plane landed in New York, the sun was rising over the Atlantic Ocean. They had closed the deal in Seattle and were back in the office before most of Wall Street had started their day.
The first thing Arthur did was not to rest, but to go to the accounting department. He watched as the final transaction was recorded: Continental had received 100,000 shares of Boeing stock in exchange for the capital injection and the risk taken.
Those shares were immediately added to the Continental Bank's assets. They were not cash, but they were a powerful form of wealth. The initial $5 million from the trust was now protected and working, already leveraging itself many times over.
Arthur Vance, 18, stood in his small, quiet office. He looked at the paperwork on his desk. The trust was secured. Continental was built. Boeing was under their control.
He was no longer Arthur Vance, the stunned survivor of 2025. He was Arthur Vance, the founder of the Continental Investment Bank. The generational plan had begun. The machine was oiled, sharp, and hungry. The only question now was: What was the next target?