"I am well, thank you," I responded whilst looking about the bar and withdrawing my hand. "Where is everyone?"
"We rent out a private room in the back – nice and quiet, away from this rabble. Come on, follow me."
With a drunken stumble Rufus passed through the room. He received several scornful stares as he stumbled into a group of men gesticulating furiously at the sudden interruption. Ignoring the whole group – I am unsure if this was intentional or because he was too inebriated to notice a group of loud, angry men calling after him – he continued pushing forward. He was apparently far too complacent to care about the opinions of others or oblivious to his surroundings, either situation could have proven fatal.
At the far end of the main room there was a quaint wood furnished corridor. Rufus carried the drinks through the room and in doing so spilt a great deal. He beckoned me through the corridor. At the far end there were several doors leading to private rooms. I would prefer to remain ignorant to the magnitude of illegal dealings pervading in that establishment. Rufus hastened to one particular door, threw it open and loudly proclaimed, "Look who I found!"
Sat around a circular table were the men I had expected to see, dressed in grand and expensive attire and drinking expensive bottles of wine. They prepared to gamble their earnings at cards, no doubt. Amidst them sat Francis.
"Ah, the devil himself!" Lucius stood and strode over to me before anyone could say anything, taking my hand in an empty handshake.
"You had us all worried with that disappearing act of yours," Palmer spoke with a warm smile. "How are you Eric?"
"I am presently fine, Palmer. Thank you."
"Horrid business about your Father." The warm smile faded. "My condolences."
"Indeed, most unfortunate." Lucius chimed in as he returned to his seat to pour himself more wine. "Although you must be feeling good about inheriting the family business?"
I should have timed it. I had barely walked into the room before someone brought up the matter of business. I would be trapped in that room for the rest of the evening. Thus, I found it prudent to clear the matter sooner rather than later. "Actually, I have been back only a matter of days. I have not had the time to deal with such matters. Not at present, nor in the foreseeable future."
"I see."
With the matter of business brushed aside, Lucius beckoned for me to sit and proceeded to deal cards to each man. I made sure to seat myself beside Francis.
"I did not expect to see you here," I said as made myself comfy.
"I like a game of cards as much as the next man. I could same the same to you though."
Before I could say anything more, Rufus heaved himself onto the seat beside me. He scooped up his cards and turned to me. "The game is Old Maid, do you know the rules?"
I nodded. I had first learnt the game whilst attending university. It could probably be attributed to my idleness, but if not cards then it would have been some other fancy that would have lured my mind away from the monotony. Cards were not to blame. I continued to play games many more times afterwards, remaining an avid player. Cards were sometimes the only language I had in common with others.
The aim of this game is to pair each card with its respective colour equivalent. One card – a Jack, in this particular case – is removed from the deck. The winner is the first person to empty his hand, and the loser would be the player holding the remaining Jack at the end. Traditionally, you only wanted to make sure that you were not the loser; however from the taunts about the table it was quite obvious that many were in it to emerge victorious.
Each man collected his cards. We discarded each pair and took time to sort our remaining hands. Moving in a clockwise motion we begun to offer our hands to one another, passing our cards back and forth in the hope of blindly making a pair. Little strategy is involved in such a game; the main requirement is to ensure your poker face masks your hand.
The game travelled around the table until Rufus offered his hand out to me, using this as a chance to simultaneously engage me in conversation. "So, what exactly was it that you doing out in Europe, Eric?"
"Mainly settling up trade contracts," I replied plainly while I took a card from him – a five, which was of no use to me. "My Father was looking to import from America."
I turned to Francis to offer my hand, but Rufus continued. "I suppose I was unclear. I meant to say, what were you really doing?"
As Francis took a card from my hand – a ten – I could not help but deliver him a scornful look. I was under the impression he had likely paraded the notion of my disappearing act amongst anyone and everyone during my absence.
"I said nothing," Francis assured me, pairing the black ten to one of his own as he placed the duo on the table. "You disappeared for months; did you think no one would notice?"
I could not stay angry at him for long, for his point was valid and I realised it was unrealistic to return without being questioned about my whereabouts. "I just needed some time to myself, nothing more."
"If my wife disappeared for six months every time she said she needed time to herself, I would be a far happier man!" Palmer chortled to himself. The other members of the room apparently did not find his remark amusing.
"You do not simply meander around Europe for some time alone," Rufus enquired, trying to pry the truth.
"I did not come here to be interrogated," I answered firmly before trying to change the topic. "I came here to take all your money."
Palmer spluttered with laughter. "I see spending a year out in the wilds of Europe did nothing to beat the arrogance out of you!" With a wide smile, he laid his remaining pairs on the table, declaring victory. "See here," he bellowed before taking a mouthful from his glass, "as I told you all last week, I was just simply having a bad day. I more than made up for that this week."
"Well done," Lucius responded as he feigned a clap. "I knew you would not lose so abjectly so soon."
The remainder of the game played out. Knowing there had already been a winner, the remaining participants merely made sure they were not the one holding the last Jack. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, in the last turn Francis took my final card, leaving me with the odd card and declaring me the loser for the night.
"Tough luck Eric," he smiled as he laid his cards on the table, bragging about not losing.
The cards were gathered and shuffled by Lucius, but instead of being dealt again they were placed to one side.
"Shall we proceed with business?" Palmer croaked, rubbing his palms together.
My eyes caught Lucius' with a cold stare. He had promised that the night was simply a night of playing cards, but it appeared there was more to these meetings than I had been led to believe.
Apparently Lucius also caught my gaze. "Is something the matter, Eric?"
"I would imagine Eric is a bit disillusioned at present," Francis spoke before I was able to respond. "I am afraid he appears to have lost interest in business since his time abroad. I doubt he would have of an interest in any of the business committed about this table."
"I was under the impression that tonight was purely recreational in nature," I responded.
Lucius grinned. "And I was hoping that it would interest you when you saw what we could achieve.'"
"And besides," Palmer placed his empty wine glass to the table, "to those of us with sense, making money is recreational."
Apparently sensing my falling mood, Lucius tried to move the conversation along. "Let us get started. If Eric chooses to participate with us, he is welcome to do so."
Palmer refilled his glass. "The more the merrier, I always say."
"Very well, on with business." Lucius slid the cards away from the table and sat uniformly. "In the past month, Spencer Insurance was purchased by the Hudson Group. They approached to shut down their business. For this we earned an agreeable £500."
Palmer dragged a cigar from his coat pocket, placing it between his plump lips. "I would wager you are delighted about that Rufus."
>
"I can only say that I am elated to see the back of them."
"Pardon my intrusion," I finally spoke when I got the opportunity. I was bemused by the entire conversation. "What is The Hudson Group, and why does their business affect us?"
Lucius let out an obvious sigh, setting his glass down. He appeared to tire at the thought of explaining the entire thing to someone already marked as disinterested. "Francis, please explain."
Francis paused before speaking. "Very well. The Hudson Group is the company founded by the men you see here. This company is used to co-operatively invest, merge and redistribute money between the founding members."
Despite Francis putting it as politically as possible, the goal of the operation did not elude me. "You illegally extort money from business ventures and share the money between yourselves?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes," Lucius fiddled with his empty glass, apparently upset at hearing the truth stated so plainly. "Nobody is clean in the world of business."
"I understand," my response was slow, as the entire meeting ticked over in my mind. "You fund this shadow company and use this money to buy out competition. You then sell the assets. From this you monopolise the market and spread the profits between yourselves."
Apparently I had struck a nerve. None of the men in the room appeared to appreciate hearing their dealings stated in such plainness, and it was not long before somebody tried to explain their actions. Unsurprisingly, it was the solicitor of the group who spoke up.
"The purpose of our venture is not so much about money," Rufus lied. "The primary aims are more specifically relating to the elimination of our competition. Do you know how much we have to spend to compete with other companies? We would make plenty of money if we bought the companies at a loss. The lack of competition alone accounts for most of our profits."
Hearing Rufus' testament, Palmer joined in. "As The Hudson Group does not specifically deal with any assets, we can hide behind what is essentially a fake company. This makes it hard for others to trace where the investments originate. This means we can operate our other assets without worry."
"Everyone has a price, Eric," Lucius sneered, unapologetic for their actions. "The cost of buying a company is more than compensated by acquiring their customers."
"And then you distribute the profit between yourselves?" I concluded. "These profits fund the acquisition? Is that feasible?"
Rufus nodded. "It takes some capital to get it started, but from there is it more than feasible. We are not the only people doing this, I assure you. I have seen other companies try the same things, only they were not as effective and soon died out. My competitors would do the same to me if given the opportunity."
I spoke, “And why do you entrust me with such detail?”
“I thought you may have been interested in such a venture,” Lucius said.
Harry smiled; a hollow smile of the echo of a long abandoned friend. “Do not think of it so subjectively, Eric. Many of these companies are crooked themselves, our acts grant favours to the client.”
"There is no need to justify ourselves," Lucius proclaimed, pushing the conversation aside. "Palmer, who is the target this week?"
Palmer responded without contemplation. "Ashdown & Son. They have been heckling me for weeks now. I have tried to buy them out. They have rejected every offer."
"They know they have a good, solid company," Lucius slipped back into his seat, apparently more relaxed now. "They are a family ran company and, as such, their asking price has consistently been too high. Even with the lack of competition it is not feasible. We bide our time. I will see what I can do about them."
"Very well," Palmer sulked. "If our business is concluded I think I will call it a night, gentlemen."
Palmer rose from the table and gulped down the remainder of his wine before nodding and taking his leave. As Palmer crossed the room Harry stood up. "Yes, I think I will also take my leave."
"Very well," Lucius spoke as they made their way out. "We shall meet again, same time next week."
The two men left together, barely able to squeeze into the adjacent corridor at the same time. Once they had left, the room seemed much emptier.
"This explains how you all became so wealthy in the space of a year," I summarised. "You were destroying your business competition. The return may not be instant, but it pays off in the long run."
Lucius perceived the evening not yet over and poured himself another glass of wine. "Yes. We can make sure to damage our competitor's reputation in the process too, making sure that if they set up another company they will never be able to get their customers back again. It also lowers the price in obtaining the company if we need to buy them out too."
"If we can gain a monopoly over the foreseeable future for much of the country, we will become unstoppable," Rufus bragged. "Each of us works in a different business sector. This means there is no risk of us treading on each other."
"It is a shame that you are not interested in managing your Father’s company, Eric." Lucius spoke slowly, his serpentine eyes scanning me. I could tell instantly where he was going with his remarks. "If you did run your own business, you would be able to join our venture. You could become a very wealthy man..."
Lucius made no effort to be subtle about it. The con was a tried and tested affair from which the other men were clearly profiting. As much as I loathed accepting Lucius's offer I realised that without money I would remain in London for the remainder of my time. If I were to gamble with Lucius I could become as wealthy as they were and hopefully leave before the year was out.
"Although I have no interest in running the company, Lucius, I have yet to turn down the offer."
A greedy smile spread across his face the moment I opened my mouth. "Every man has his price?" he smirked, victorious.
I actively ignored Lucius's sleazy demeanour. "You all pay into this fund, correct?"
"Five percent of each company's monthly earnings. In a profitable month we are able to increase the investment tenfold."
"If I managed my Father’s company, would I be able to pay into your fund with the proceeds?" I had no idea if I would be able to take the money from the company each month without Gilbert realising. I would need to match his work and take the funds out slowly over the month and replenish the funds when the investment was paid. As long as Gilbert was not intently guarding the money I would be able to extract what I needed. The profits from the first pay out would fund my subsequent input.
Lucius supped from his wine glass, apparently mulling it over. I had no doubt he was simply pretending to consider it. "For as long as you could eventually supply the same amount as the rest of us, I do not see any reason to deny you."
It was a steep request. The men in that room were already well established and had a head start. Matching their funds would prove difficult. Still, as long as Gilbert had kept my Father’s company intact, it would not be impossible. The pay off at the end would be worth it.
"Besides," Rufus spoke between gulps of wine, "the money we have in the fund at any time allows us to buy the companies. With your money we can make larger offers."
"Just be aware that we do not always make a profit," Lucius warned. "Sometimes we have to buy out a company due to necessity, not just to increase our wealth."
"I understand that would be an option. It is in the interest of a business such as this," although difficult: the decision was made. "I have enough to keep funding. You need not worry."
"Then it is settled," Lucius remarked proudly, standing abruptly from his seat, arms outstretched. He strode over and held out his hand, which I took in a silent and empty handshake. The deal finalised, Lucius quaffed the remainder of his drink. "Eric, tomorrow you and I will visit the bank to make the necessary arrangements for payment. For now, if you do not object, I will see you all next week."
Everyone said their departing words – except Rufus – who decided to waddle off to the bar to fill up with further drink and pay the charge for
the room. We all entered into the foyer once again, where a thousand judging eyes gazed upon me once more, only this time after briefly casting their glances over me they returned to their conversations and bragging. Perhaps, walking out with such a crowd, they had mistaken me for one of them. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Lucius brushed by us as we exited, saying his goodbyes before taking his leave into the dark streets of London.
"I did not think to find you amongst such a crowd," I said to Francis as we made our way towards the exit.
"I did not tell you as I did not believe you would be interested in such affairs. Are you sure you are making the right decision?"
I was not, but I would not tell him that. Instead I nodded, a nod I believed was confident enough in itself to not raise an eyebrow.
Before we could leave from the club, the front doors opened once again and from the crowd within came a familiar voice. Rufus, inebriated, made his way over to us. "Eric, it is good to have you back. Will you not join me in a drink?"
Rufus' definition of a drink was vastly different to mine. "I am sorry Rufus. I was thinking about retiring. I am awfully tired."
"Nonsense," he spluttered. "I will buy all your drinks! It will make a change from drinking those toxic elixirs you no doubt had to resort to in Europe. You too, Francis. Come on, that wife of yours can wait."
Francis gave me a solemn smile. We realised escaping Rufus would be impossible. As such, we decided to amuse him for a while and followed him back in to the infernal club.
"I am surely glad you have decided to join us Eric," he loudly slurred while pushing his way towards the bar. "We had a few good streaks recently. We are buying companies for less than we did when we started and as a result we are making much more profit."
The Killing Hand Page 3