by Ian Miller
"And you did?"
"You really want to take that shonky agreement to court? All of our Australian mining activities would be all over the newspapers."
"Fair point," Goldfinch acknowledged. "Do we know who this guy is?"
"That's the problem. I have no idea, and nobody I know has any idea. I would guess Lamont does, but I can hardly go ask him."
"Not nicely, anyway," Goldfinch agreed. "My guess is that somebody's trying to make real money. Is the stock registered in his name?"
"No, it's registered to a shelf company in the British Virgin Islands."
"A tax haven," Goldfinch said with a nod. "It means the actual owner of the stock is unknown." He paused, then said, "If this is their idea of payback, then they're going to learn a thing or two about payback."
"You want me to arrange for them to get –"
"No rough stuff," Goldfinch said firmly. "It was a complete shambles last time those associates you know about got involved." Middleton winced. How much did Goldfinch know? Goldfinch continued, "Worse, they seemingly lost me a lot of money. I can't afford that level of stupidity, and anyway, it seems Lamont has found his own associates, and from what you told me, they're ex military."
"Yeah, but they surprised our –"
"I don't care!" Goldfinch snapped. "I don't want excuses."
"No, boss," came the very subdued reply.
"We don't want another gunfight at the OK Corral," Goldfinch said, a little more calmly, "and we don't want to fight when we have no idea what the enemy can do, or, for that matter, who they are."
"No, boss."
"I can't see either Justin or Janice knowing how to pick up ex military who are prepared to do that sort of thing, which means we have to try to find out who the enemy really is. We do that through the two Jays."
"You want them watched?"
"Yes, that's exactly what you should arrange."
"I'm already onto it," Middleton said, then suddenly he realised maybe he should not have said that.
"Oh?"
"I've arranged to have a watch from a room I've hired on the opposite side of the road from Lamont and Ellison, to see who comes and goes, and if that man turns up, someone will follow him and see where he goes."
"OK, that's fair enough," Goldfinch said. Middleton breathed out a little easier. "If they're on the other side of the road, how do they know who's seeing Lamont? His office is in a high rise."
"Actually, with a telescope they can see through the window, but the real point is they are looking for the man in the photo. Even if he goes somewhere else, we're onto him."
'Sensible. Nevertheless, what I want now is for you to hire a respectable private eye. Observation only, and I want as many details that I can get on everyone they meet."
"Got it." Middleton gave a confident nod, but in his heart he was not so sure. Had he overplayed this telescope thing?
"We've got to pick the fight where we hold all the cards, and one of those cards is, as Sun Tzu said, know thine enemy." Goldfinch paused, and waited for a response, but there was none. "Another piece of advice was you should try to select the terrain."
"Terrain?" The Chief of Staff was clearly puzzled, and more than a little frightened.
"In this case, we try to fight on financial grounds." He looked at the puzzled Chief of Staff, then added, "We have a lot more resources on the stock market."
The Chief of Staff said nothing.
"Well, I pay you for advice, so comment!"
"Well, I was thinking that this attack was not exactly lucky."
"Of course it wasn't lucky. We're losing money –"
"No, I mean from their side. What they did almost looks like they knew what we were going to do, and . . ."
"And you think we've got a spy amongst our team?"
"Or a leak." When Goldfinch shook his head in dismay, he added, "I mean we could be bugged."
"OK, I agree that's possible, but I rather fancy someone mentioned the plan to Lamont. Ask around the staff whether they know how Lamont and Ellison are getting on. Don't make a big thing about it, and don't tell them about this disaster. Just look as if you're genuinely curious to know how our ex-staff are doing."
"Can do." After it became clear Goldfinch did not want anything else, he turned and left Goldfinch's office. He was not a happy man. Something was going wrong, and he had no idea what. Lamont and Ellison were too small fry to have managed anything like this, and people who reduced those so-called associates to frightened little boys were out of Lamont's league. He had this funny feeling Goldfinch's ship was starting to sink. It might be time to be a rat.
Chapter 10
"You two look worried," Cameron remarked as he took a mug of coffee. "Things gone wrong?"
"Not exactly," Justin said. "Your boss should be pleased. We've made him at least forty million dollars, at least on paper. Strictly speaking, it's not a gain until it's converted to cash."
"Then why the concerned looks?"
"Most of this is at Goldfinch's expense," Janice explained. "We expect he will not be pleased with us. You might have to earn whatever Rutherford's paying you."
"Don't look so worried. We knew this was going to happen."
"We thought it was going to happen," Justin said. "If Goldfinch hadn't been so greedy, he could have got out ahead before we got started."
"Hey, when a plan works, don't worry about what could have gone wrong. Accept it worked."
"I wonder what Goldfinch will do now?" Janice asked.
Justin's phone ran. He listened, then said, "Send him up to the office." He ended the conversation, then said to Janice, "I guess we're going to find out. Graeme wants to see us."
"Graeme?" Cameron asked.
"Graeme Middleton. He's Goldfinch's Chief of Staff," Janice explained. "This is going to be interesting."
"You need me here?" Cameron asked.
"No. Stay out of sight. The less they know about you, the better."
"Good," Cameron said. "I don't want to be there, but if you were frightened . . ."
"I'm not frightened," Justin said. "Some situation might turn up where I get frightened, but –"
"Don't feel ashamed, Justin. If something bad's going down, anyone who doesn't experience nerves doesn't understand the situation. This is safe, so meet, but if he produces a weapon or something, hit the silent alarm button and play for time. I'll listen in."
Justin gave a thumbs up sign, and he began tidying his desk, Janice took the empty mugs to the small kitchen.
They had just sat down at their desks when their secretary brought Middleton into the office. Justin was amused to see Middleton also looked a little nervous. This was going to be an interesting meeting. He switched on the intercom so that Cameron could hear in the far room. He knew this would be recorded, for Rutherford's benefit.
"Good afternoon, Graeme," Justin said, as he got up, smiled broadly, and offered his hand.
Middleton seemed a little confused. He had obviously expected to get an angry reception. He took Justin's hand, mumbled a "Good afternoon," and sat down in the proffered chair.
"So, Graeme, what brings you here?" Justin asked. He was doing his best to maintain a confident look, and he had succeeded well enough because Middleton averted his gaze and looked downwards a bit.
"Your big purchase of Aurora Mining has really irritated Mr Goldfinch," Middleton started.
"Has it?" Justin said, as he tried to maintain an innocent look. "I assure you that was not why we did it."
"What?" came the startled response. "Then why?"
"A client came and asked us to make the purchases," Justin explained. "We do what the client wants."
"As you might guess," Janice added, somewhat tartly, "after Mr Goldfinch did what he did to us, we haven't any of our own money to invest, so yes, we carry out our client's wishes."
"Then who's this client?"
"You aren't going to tell me who gave you the tip on Aurora Mining, are you?" Justin asked, as he leaned
back in his chair and gave a challenging smile.
"You know I can't tell you that," Middleton said.
"Particularly if it were to be the same person who gave our client his information," Janice added. Middleton stared at her in shock. That possibility had not occurred to him, but then again, he was unaware of what Goldfinch had been told.
"Just so," Justin said, equally emphatically. With a continuing and irritating smile on his face, he continued, "and you know I can't tell you the name of our client,"
"Look, Mr Goldfinch needs to know –"
"Yes, but our client doesn't need Mr Goldfinch to know."
"Yes, but, well . . . Mr Goldfinch needs to buy that stock." Middleton now looked clearly embarrassed.
"Got to return the borrow, eh?" Justin said. "Of course, if you, or someone else, wants to make an offer, we would certainly relay the offer to our client."
"And will he accept?"
"We have no idea," Janice said, "but of course, the better the offer, the more likely it would be accepted."
"However, we can only pass it on," Justin said. "Because of the size of the commission, we could be considered to have a conflict of interest if we gave an opinion to sell, and that's unethical."
"And we most certainly do not want to be thought of as unethical," Janice offered.
"So, if you want to make an offer, you can bring it at any time," Justin said. "Now, was there anything else?"
There was nothing else. Middleton took his leave. He was definitely not pleased with the outcome, but equally, when he thought about it, it was probably as good as he could have expected. The problem was, he would have to persuade Goldfinch to make the offer higher than the current market price, and he strongly suspected that was seriously overpriced. On the other hand, if they had to purchase on the open market, to get enough sellers that they could cover the borrow, the price would soar. The other question was, what price would the lender accept in lieu of a return?
* * *
"So, Janice," Cameron said, when he met them the following day, "that suggestion you made that our tip might have come from the same person as Goldfinch's was really wicked."
"You didn't like it?" Janice asked, with a touch of concern.
"Mr Rutherford thought it was one of the best he's heard."
"All the same, Goldfinch hasn't made an offer," Justin said.
"No, but the thought that someone is playing both sides will scare him. He has no idea what's really going on."
"Do we?" Justin asked.
"Possibly not," Cameron replied, "but Goldfinch has to cover that borrow, or he has committed theft, and worse, he will have told everyone on Wall Street he's a fraud. He simply can't afford that."
"Then why haven't we heard?" Janice asked.
"His first move would be to try and buy out his loan," Cameron said, "and probably that is what will happen. We've got to try to work out when he does that."
"Any clues as to how?" Janice asked.
"That's Mr Rutherford's problem. All you need to know right now is he's very pleased with you."
"So now what?" Justin asked.
"Now we wait, and you can do what you like if you get fresh clients. There's one more thing I should tell you. You're being watched."
"Goldfinch's men?"
"Probably indirect hired men," Cameron confirmed. "So, if you feel up to it, when you go out, take the long route, but whatever else, do not get into empty lanes where you could be dragged off the street. Try to stay where there are people, which shouldn't be too hard."
"Do we try to evade?"
"I'd prefer you not to, unless you can make it seem accidental. It's probably better if they think you don't know. And whatever else you do, don't try confronting them. You're not up to that, at least not yet."
Justin nodded, and winced slightly. Cameron was sufficiently pleased with their efforts at getting fit and stronger that he had started a little self-defence teaching. This had mainly involved Cameron throwing them around, and while it was on mats, he was still feeling the pain of stretched muscles.
* * *
Middleton was unhappy as he knocked on Goldfinch's door, and even less happy to hear the bark of "Come in!" The boss was unhappy, and what he had to say was not going to make him happier.
"Boss, that shit thinks he's got us over a barrel, and he wants twice current market price to sell his stock, otherwise he wants it back."
"I rather fancied that would happen," Goldfinch said. "Go back to the Jays and see if they'll take a lower offer."
Middleton nodded, and left. He felt like the message boy who was always taking bad news. He rang Janice, made an offer of ten per cent above market, and Janice told him she would get back with their client's response. To his surprise, she phoned back half an hour later.
"Our client is prepared conditionally to accept your offer," she said. "He or she knows you're a bit over the barrel on this one, and an extortionate price could be asked, but he or she is prepared to accept on two conditions. These are that first you buy the whole lot of our stock, which is about 35% of the company. I shall send you the exact number and invoice if you agree –"
"Thirty-five per cent?"
"Yes," Janice said. "Our client would not wish to hang on to ten per cent because it is insufficient from the point of view of control, but it is too much in terms of cash to have locked away in something that is no longer useful."
"And the second condition?" Middleton asked. He was a little surprised at that comment, because he had been thinking solely in terms of money, but if the investor was actually interested in having some form of control of a company, ten per cent was really insufficient. Perhaps this investment was genuine, and not merely to annoy Goldfinch.
"The money is transferred within twenty-four hours," Janice said. "We would immediately expedite the stock transfer, but if you leave it to the last minute, obviously it will take us longer to –"
"Understood," Middleton said. "I'll get right back to you."
As expected, Goldfinch accepted, and the money appeared in the Ellison and Lamont Trust account by ten o'clock the following morning. The stock transfer process had already been completed up to the stage of actually transferring, so by that afternoon, Goldfinch had his thirty-five per cent of Aurora Mining. He immediately transferred the twenty-five per cent he owed, then with a smile he flung the remaining ten per cent back on the market, and made an announcement that he wanted nothing more to do with this wretched Australian mining company.
Immediately after that, Aurora Mining stock values plunged. The Australian stock exchange ordered the stock no longer be traded, pending an enquiry into the cause of this volatility. The Directors were under a cloud, and nobody believed them when they said they had no idea what caused it, but they were saved by the fact that none of them had personally traded in the company, and hence they had made no personal profit from the volatility. Goldfinch had no intention of assisting their enquiry.
Chapter 11
Rutherford bounced into the workroom, gave a thumbs up signal, then indicated Dennis and Brian should follow. They shut down whatever they were working on, grabbed their coats, thus indicating they were not coming back, and ran after Rutherford.
"Well, they seem happy with themselves," Burrowes muttered. "It's only three-thirty, and it looks like they won't be doing much more today." He paused, then added, "I wonder where they're going?"
"Presumably to celebrate something," Svetlana offered. "You could always follow, but I guess we wouldn't be welcome."
"My guess is we can't follow," Burrowes said. "They'll have gone in Rutherford's car."
"Maybe they've skimmed Kapralov's accounts to the bone," Svetlana said, "although my guess is, if they did that, sooner or later they'll get caught, so maybe they're fleeing the country."
"I'll check that one," Burrowes said, and quickly began typing.
"You're starting to get fluent with these bank accounts," Svetlana said. "I don't suppose it occurs to yo
u that sooner or later someone will track this back to you?"
"It occurred to me," Burrowes said, "but you realize that will direct the authorities right back to the guilty parties."
"Ha! You're doing your civic duty. How noble, and for that matter, how silly and downright dangerous."
Burrowes noted that she was taunting him, which bothered him. It could be dangerous, but she seemed strangely unconcerned. Maybe she was the one being a little silly. He kept typing. The problem with keeping the identity secret was that he had to redirect the message through so many servers, and he could not use the same pattern repeatedly. The minutes passed, then finally he decided he had made the hack hard enough to track and he focused in on one of the banks.
"I'm in," he said. He did a little more rapid typing, then he killed the link.
"Well?" Svetlana asked.
"You're not going to believe this," he said.
"Possibly not, but if you don't tell me what it is, I'm not going to have the chance."
"Well, try this. The missing money from Kapralov's account has been returned."
"Ha! That's why Rutherford was so happy. Nobody's noticed, and now there's nothing to notice."
"There's still the electronic trail," Burrowes said. He was quite disappointed that Svetlana had accepted that as if it were quite ordinary.
"Which takes a lot of forensic effort to find, and why commit the effort if there's no damage?"
"That certainly makes it an interesting crime," Burrowes said. "Illegal borrowing and returning."
"Well, at least it tells us the sort of people we're associated with."
"It does indeed," Burrowes said, as a frown crossed his face. "The question is, what do we do about it?"
"Nothing!" Svetlana was quite emphatic and seemed quite annoyed that he might be thinking of doing his civic duty.
"Worried the boss might fire us?" Burrowes taunted.