by Ian Miller
"And why would Irving Goldfinch be interested in doing this?" He paused and shook his head as he added, "Besides annoying Rutherford?"
"Because he would be indirectly the guy who tried to steal the torpedo documentation. We threaten him with a serious jail term for espionage and or treason."
"You know we can't prove that."
"I know that, but I bet he doesn't."
"I don't know," Lawton said slowly, "but I'll tell you what. I'll take you to meet Ruth Telfar of the CIA. If she approves, this could be doable." He thought for a moment, then added, "I rather fancy she'll be more enthusiastic, because it's not one of her agents on the line."
"Fair enough."
"She'll probably suggest you accompany whoever goes," he said with a grin. "It'll be you on the line."
"Oh, shit."
"As they say," Lawton continued, now almost laughing, "every good idea deserves to be thoroughly dumped on. It's all coming your way."
Chapter 29
When Burrowes returned to "work", he knew he would have to explain why he was going to be away for some time. He was unsure what to say to the others, but he was partially saved by Rutherford coming to him while he was sitting at his desk. "So, you're going to be off to Russia?"
Burrowes groaned. Still, this was not going to be a secret mission, so it probably did not matter. "It's not cast in stone yet," he said. "It's only an idea at this stage." He looked more directly at Rutherford, then asked, "How did you know?"
"The guy who's paying you phoned me to let me know, so I didn't get excited when you weren't here," Rutherford explained. He looked genuinely interested in this expedition as he asked, "So, what's the plan?"
Burrowes thought for a moment. The fact that Lawton had contacted Rutherford must mean this was not top secret. "Well, there's no guarantee it's going to happen. It sort of depends."
"It depends on what?" Svetlana was quite interested, and bearing in mind she was Russian, that was not entirely surprising.
"What we are going to try to do is to persuade Irving Goldfinch to at least investigate buying a Russian paint company." Burrowes noticed that Dennis' eyes had lit up slightly. What was that about?
"So you think our Irving will turn you down?"
"Maybe. Or maybe the Russian government will turn us down. Or won't let us into the country. After all, we have to tell them why we want in."
"Why Goldfinch?" Rutherford said with a frown.
"Because whoever does this has to be able to spend a few hundred million without sweating, and be known to be able do it."
"Well, good luck with that," Rutherford said, and turned away.
"What say the Russian company doesn't want to see you?" Svetlana asked.
"That's another problem, and of course, it can't be just any company. We shall try to see three, and two don't matter, but the third does. It has to be the one –"
"That receives shipments from Ufa," Svetlana offered.
"Yep. That's right. That's the whole point of the exercise."
"So, you're going to sneak around, and when nobody's looking, steal a tin of paint?" Her face showed she did not think anyone could be this stupid.
"I don't think that would be a very good idea," Burrowes said. "I could just see someone walking out trying to conceal a ten litre pail in his back pocket."
"That would be a bit obvious," Svetlana agreed, "and while it may be in smaller packages, I'd imagine the smallest tin would be rather big."
"So we have to be a little more subtle," Burrowes continued, his voice becoming a little sarcastic. "The more perceptive might note that to buy a company, we would need to see the books, and maybe we can see that a shipment of paint going out corresponded to the load from Ufa coming in, with about the right concentration."
"You don't know how much they put in," Svetlana pointed out.
"We can make a good guess. The paint has to be opaque, so it will be there in a concentration similar to that used for pigments in most ordinary paint."
"Oh, that's clever," Svetlana said. "So, you don't care too much whether you buy a company or not?"
"No, not really."
"Then let's choose some, and give you a chance to see something of Russia." Svetlana seemed quite enthusiastic as she said this.
"How are you going to do that?" Burrowes asked with a smile. "You an expert on paint companies?"
"Of course not, but I know something of Russia, and there is always the web. So, how many cities do you want to see?"
"The guy who'll be paying for my ticket wants to limit it to Moscow," he replied. "That's where the key company is, and we look at another two to make it look less obvious that that's the target. Of course if Irving really wants to see more, and is prepared to fund it . . ."
"I wouldn't count on Scrooge McGoldfinch paying for a holiday for you," Svetlana shook her head sadly, "nevertheless that's something to work on. I'll make some suggestions."
Burrowes knew he should be doing this research himself, but he decided not to bother. Better to see what Svetlana came up with.
* * *
While all this was going on, Dennis suddenly realised there might be a second opportunity here, and better still, it should buy some more time. He still had no idea what to make of the torpedo plans he had stolen. They might be related to a project that Goldfinch was deeply interested in, but he knew the other copy was already being used to make the thing. It was also disconcerting that McKenzie had yet to make a fuss about the theft. Either he did not know they had been stolen, or he did know but he did not care. Worse than that, he could not use these plans to buy more time with Rutherford because it was getting increasingly difficult to see how he could use them without admitting he stole them. Whether Rutherford would care about that was another question.
Why would McKenzie not care? One possibility was these were early plans, and what was made from them did not work. That was a sure-fire way to lead to disaster. What he had hoped would happen was that McKenzie would discover the plans were stolen and assume Goldfinch had organised the theft. That would certainly set Goldfinch back quite a bit, and as the whole project would probably come to an end, that would cost Goldfinch several hundred million. That should satisfy Rutherford, although he still had to work out how to claim it was his doing. He had hoped Rutherford would not care.
Now, that was not going to work, at least not without prodding McKenzie. But if Goldfinch went to Russia, surely here was some sort of opportunity. A hint here or there to the Russian authorities might do wonders. It would end up very unpleasant for Burrowes, but better Burrowes got into the deep brown stuff than Rutherford took it out on him.
* * *
The following morning, Svetlana produced a page with three companies on it. One had a red circle around it, which she explained was a must see.
"It's the only one I could find that's out of Moscow," she said. "It's a funny little company, from what I can make out, and Irving wouldn't be the slightest bit interested, but it will at least let you see some of the countryside."
"Goldfinch mightn't like that," Burrowes said.
"Then let him pay for you to go somewhere else. Saint Petersburg is quite attractive this time of the year, and there are several companies there. You could see –"
"Sorry to interrupt, but don't forget, the chances of us going anywhere are rather slim, so we might have to just wait and see."
"We can hope," Svetlana said. "With any luck it will be a time you won't forget in a hurry. Russia is a lot different from here."
* * *
The reason McKenzie had not noticed the theft was that he had decided to take a vacation, and that was why he had taken a fat suitcase on the fund-seeking expedition. He did not intend to return to his apartment for a week or so. His main reason for needing a vacation was to get away from Hooper, who had seemingly become increasingly nervous. The reason seemed to be that Hooper had decided that as this project continued, he was becoming increasingly irrelevant, and he was running a
round trying to make himself important, and more to the point, trying to persuade McKenzie he was important. Hooper seemed not to realize that he, McKenzie, was never going to dump him. They had an agreement, and McKenzie would live with it. He knew he would never have got this far without Hooper, so Hooper had a free ride from now on. Only Hooper did not seem to believe that.
The trouble was, if he kept up this sort of behaviour, it was going to be hard to defend him because he was seemingly making enemies at Super Dynamics with his persistent questions regarding progress. Goldfinch was technically the contact point for Super Dynamics according to the agreement, and McKenzie had decided that sooner or later Goldfinch would get tired of harassment from Super Dynamics, and would do something about the cause. He was only too well aware that Goldfinch wanted to get rid of the two of them, and probably the only thing holding him back was that Super Dynamics would presumably want him on call in case there were technical issues arising from the scale-up. That would not happen for weeks, knowing how such big Corporations were strangely sluggish at something novel, so now was the time for vacation.
He had to hope Hooper would not ask Super Dynamics where he was. Not that they would know the answer to that, because as yet he did not know where he was going. Florida seemed interesting. Somewhere with a beach.
As it happened, Super Dynamics did not wish to contact him while constructing the trial torpedo, because they suspected that any call would ignite more rounds of harassment from Hooper. When there were issues that seemed to be debatable, their engineers would solve the problem. Whether they were to solve it properly was to be an issue that was to cause severe problems.
Chapter 30
"And what can I do for you?" a puzzled Goldfinch asked. He was annoyed already. This man Lawton had credentials that could not be ignored, but it was hard to see why a man from the NSA would be addressing a leading banker. The only possibility was the one thing he was absolutely not doing, at least as far as he knew, and that was funding terrorists. The other question was, could they suspect that some of his activities were exercises in money laundering? Some might think that, but that was never his intention. It was just that if he moved money about in certain ways and deployed it in various places, he would make a fat profit. But it was always his money, legitimately made. Or at least that was his story. In any case, suspicions there would not bring the NSA down on him. The FBI, maybe, but . . . Maybe that was wrong. Not that it mattered. The man was here, so whatever the reason, he had to at least listen.
"I want you to send a small team to Russia to investigate the purchase of stock in Russian paint companies, or to do some sort of joint venture, or –"
"What do I want to do that for?" Goldfinch was clearly suspicious. This had to be a trap of some sort, but why?
"To serve your country, for starters."
"Have you got any idea how much money is required to buy a seriously sized company?"
"Yes," Lawton responded. "That's why we need someone for whom a billion dollars is no problem."
Goldfinch almost exploded on the spot. "You want me to spend a billion dollars on –"
"I said investigate the purchase. You don't actually have to purchase."
Goldfinch subsided, then frowned. "I don't understand."
"You don't have to understand why. You send a small team to Russia to investigate. Our Embassy in Moscow will set up contacts, et cetera, and your small team, together with Mr Burrowes here, will go through whatever you would normally do when considering such a commercial arrangement. You will try to establish whether the scheme is financially sound, and you will want to know about the quality, the sales, the disgruntled customers, whatever, as if you were going to take a financial position."
"Suppose I don't want to go to Russia?"
"I never said you had to go. Someone a little more junior might be more ideal because they would have to refer any possibility to you, and they could not commit on the spot."
"Suppose the Russians don't want to see us?"
"Then nobody goes."
"Suppose they refuse to provide the necessary information?"
"Then you tell them you are sorry, but access to American markets is beyond them."
"Access to American markets?"
"Of course. Why else is your company interested in a Russian company?"
"So, what is really going on? Am I at risk of being accused of espionage?"
"From your point of view, the answer should be no. Your representative will be asking the questions any banker would ask. Mr Burrowes will be interested in one particular thing, but he will not ask more than two questions of any company, other than for clarification if they volunteer something."
"And where are these companies?"
"The main one of interest is in the northern part of Moscow, but we shall provide the names of at least two more. Whoever you send shall at least see something of Russia."
"Oh, great. Exactly why should I do this?"
"First, because you might find a real commercial opportunity. If you do, you are free to take it."
"Is there a second reason?"
"I have evidence you commissioned a burglary on something that would be grounds to try you for treason," Lawton lied smoothly. "Do this and that evidence shall disappear."
Goldfinch sat like a stunned rabbit, thus convincing both Lawton and Burrowes that their guess was correct. That, of course, was not evidence, and they knew they had none. Goldfinch recovered, and asked, "So I can send anyone?"
"Anyone competent to do an investment analysis, and someone who is authorised to at least investigate on your behalf," Lawton said. "Send the janitor, and you're off to Guantanamo."
Goldfinch grudgingly accepted. His first thought was to send Middleton, so when Lawton and Burrowes had left, Goldfinch called Middleton to his office and explained that he was going to Russia. "So, Graeme, you should start to learn something about paint."
"It has to be paint?"
"Yes, it has to be paint. There is at least one specified company."
Middleton was silent for a moment, then a slight smile crossed his face, as he said, "You should pay the Jays to go."
"Why?" Goldfinch asked contemptuously. This was not what he wanted to hear.
"Simple," Middleton said. "Assuming, of course, you don't actually want to invest in a Russian paint company chosen for some other spurious reason by the government."
"I most certainly don't."
"Then first, you want to keep all your workers here, so we can concentrate on what you want to do."
Goldfinch's expression showed he was less than amused at this suggestion.
"Second," Middleton continued, as he held his breath a little. He was committed, and he was beginning to wish he had not raised this issue at all. "You want to get rid of the Jays? Well, this looks awfully like espionage to me, so they may well end up in a Russian jail. And third, it'll probably flush out whoever's backing them."
Once again, Goldfinch looked stunned, but this time in a more favourable way. "Graeme, that's brilliant," he finally managed to say.
"Will I tell them?"
"No. That's for me to do. They'll be suspicious if you ask them to go."
Middleton decided to hold his tongue. If they were not suspicious when Goldfinch wanted a favour, there was something wrong with them, so better Goldfinch make all the mistakes.
* * *
Jason had no idea what to say to this proposition. It seemed so wrong. If Goldfinch wanted to purchase a Russian asset, why wouldn't he check it himself, or send someone he completely trusted. He had to say something, but what?
"You look uncertain?" Goldfinch said with a smile.
Janice said it for him. "What we don't understand is why you want us to go? We don't work for you, and worse, the Russians may see that, and we could be accused of fraud, and –"
"I shall give you written authority," Goldfinch said, "and I shall send a copy of the authority to our Embassy in Moscow, who will be the ones s
etting up the meetings. If the Russians don't agree to your representing me, you won't get the meetings set up so you can stay here."
"Yes, but at the end of the day, you have to cut any cheque, and –"
"Yeah, but I don't want to buy a Russian paint company. I'm going along with this because the government wants to send a Mr Burrowes to ask a couple of questions, and –"
"Then hold on," Jason interrupted. "I'll phone Burrowes."
"You know him?"
"If it's the same Burrowes," Jason said. When Burrowes answered, he explained the situation, then sat there for a while saying nothing, then he hung down the phone. "Charlie says he'd prefer it was me going than you," he finally said to Goldfinch. "So you want me to look at the books in some sort of detail. You'll have to tell me exactly what you want?"
"Exactly?" a puzzled Goldfinch asked. He did not really want anything.
"Yes," Jason replied. "The books will presumably have things written in Cyrillic, and I have to know what the terms you want look like. And, of course, there is the small matter of payment, and bearing in mind you seem to want me to recommend not buying, it better be fees, not an interest."
"Don't worry. We shall sort that out," Goldfinch assured him. "But don't forget, if what you see is a bargain, make sure you say something encouraging."
And there, Jason thought, was the real Irving Goldfinch. Any chance for a quick dollar was not to be neglected. Time, he thought, to get out of this. Time to name his price. He expected Goldfinch to throw a tizzy and walk out, but while Goldfinch flinched at first, a smile broke out over his face. "Well done, Jason. You know I can't say no, so you're getting as much as you think you can."
"The short answer," Jason said, "is I really don't want to go, so please turn me down."
"Good negotiating technique," Goldfinch said approvingly. "Stop the possibility of haggling at square one. OK, deal."