"There is an army of people who would kill for what you possess."
"We appreciate your gratitude but we have no interest in working for anyone. Our independence is nonnegotiable."
"I have no desire to interfere with something I know nothing about. I simply wish to fund a venture that unquestionably obtains highly valuable results. I bankroll people who cure aids. I have no idea how they do it but if my money helps to save lives; it is being put to good use." I remained silent, not knowing what to say.
He continued. "I am serious and fortunately in a perfect position to act. I am a very wealthy man. If I flushed hundred dollar bills down the toilet, the city of Cleveland would run out of water before I went broke. I'm offering you full funding for your endeavor; secure operating quarters, any place of your choice, sizeable salaries for all of you involved and a gift of stock to each that will assure a lifetime income from dividends. I can establish a legitimate business as a perfectly legal front so you're employed for all see. I'll accomplish this via a blind trust so you will remain unknown, even to me."
While I was dumbfounded, inherent pragmatism caused me to further prompt. "Why would you do this?"
"When I was young, I was as materialistic as the next executive until I lost my wife, lost my daughter and realized I was an old man, on a one way track to the grave. I have more money than anyone deserves. What do I do? Buy great works of art and fill my castle? That isn't creating anything; it's just redistributing what already exists. Then I lost a grandson and thanks to a miracle, he was returned to me, unharmed. I can barely visualize others not so fortunate and the grief they're forced to carry. Now, through happenstance I learn of a way this heartache might be sometimes prevented. I would be a damn fool not to devote everything I own in support of this."
"You must want more from us; at least knowledge of whom we are and what exactly we do and how we do it."
"Believe me, I have no hidden agenda."
What he proposed was unbelievably generous. "Wouldn't you want at least basic details?"
"If someone put a gun to my head for information I'd like to believe I would remain silent, perhaps unto death. If they put a gun to my grandson, I'd falter in a minute. My point is, lacking knowledge is sometimes safer than possessing it."
"Isn't that a bit melodramatic?"
"Mark my words, what you are doing will not remain unnoticed. Defense attorneys alone will leave no stone unturned to find you. Perpetrators will seek you out. God knows who else will hound you if they have any idea of your capabilities. I've spent a lifetime looking at long term implications. Though I have no comparison to your situation, I'm smart enough to know it's vital you maintain total and absolute security. It's imperative to your success."