Facing the Music

by Brian Smith

  ‘You’re seeing it at its best,’ Ivan said and rose from his seat at a small table near the bar, behind which his blond henchman stood. ‘When we arrived, all you could see was cloud. You found us alright?’

  ‘Your directions were fine,’ Vern replied.

  He saw no sign of Angelo – not until he glanced to the other end of the large room and saw him sitting in one of the leather chairs with stubbie in hand, carefully watching him.

  ‘Come and meet Angelo,’ Ivan said. ‘That’s why you’re here, after all.’

  It was only when they were almost upon him that Angelo stood up.

  ‘I’m Vern McKenzie. I doubt you would remember me, but we met at an industry do, once.’

  ‘I remember you, Vern. How is Jim Findlay getting on? I hear he’s been in hospital.’

  ‘Yes, it runs in the family at present, but Jim’s making a good recovery from his hip operation.’

  ‘What would you like to drink?’ Angelo asked.

  ‘That will be a good single malt,’ Ivan said before Vern could respond. ‘Can you manage that, Angelo?’

  ‘There’s several bottles at the bar. Don’t drink whisky myself so I’m not sure how good they are,’ he replied defensively and Vern became conscious of a tension between the two of them

  ‘Fortunately I thought to bring a bottle, just in case. I know Vern enjoys Glenkinchie,’ Ivan said. He looked directly at the blond man. ‘Shane, will you get it? I left it in the car.’

  As Shane opened the door to go outside he was met by a shaven-headed man who Vern guessed might have been the one involved in the failed burglary the other night. As the man came down the steps Vern noticed he slightly favoured one leg. His eyes were firmly on Ivan and he gave him a confirmatory nod.

  ‘Thank you, Bruno’ Ivan said. So he was the one – Bruno. Had he been seeing whether Vern had brought some friends, or checking out his car? Ivan sat down and, with a wave of his hand, invited Vern to take the chair on the other side of Angelo. They sat in silence while Shane, having returned with the bottle, poured some of its contents into a tumbler and brought it to Vern.

  ‘Time for you guys to fire up the barbecue,’ Ivan called down the room to his men. ‘You know where everything is.’ The three trooped from the room and Ivan turned to Vern. ‘Business first and then we eat,’ he said, as though the meal would be some sort of reward. He nodded at Angelo and sat back.

  Angelo raised his stubbie to his lips, looking all the while at Vern with what seemed to be troubled eyes.

  ‘We have been taking an interest in Findlay Construction and understand why you would feel frustrated and aggrieved with the way you’ve been treated while the firm slides further and further into trouble,’ he said.

  ‘Yes, I’ve already covered this with Vern,’ Ivan said impatiently. ‘Explain our proposal to him.’

  Angelo shot an angry glance at Ivan before turning again to Vern.

  ‘The Riverside project has changed direction. Our next tower is being revamped right now to provide cheaper options, similar to those at CityView. There isn’t the demand in the area for both projects to come on line together, so one has to be held back. We’re offering you the chance to join us in making sure Riverside is the one that goes ahead. You’ll be well rewarded for helping us and afterwards you will have a new career with Rubicon.’

  When Angelo hesitated, Ivan gave a click of his tongue.

  ‘Angelo has trouble cutting to the chase, so I will. Findlay Construction is finished. After the way Jim Findlay’s treated you I can’t imagine why you would stay loyal to him, but if you do, you’ll go down with him. It will be a little easier for us and so much better for you if you join us.’

  Vern took his time before replying. He had already achieved one of his objectives. He knew Sarac was merely an enforcer but he had not known the extent to which Angelo was involved. It was now clear to him that Angelo was an unwilling accomplice and had very little say in shaping their schemes. Vern needed to get to the man who really called the shots. But before that he needed to shake up Sarac. Vern fixed his eyes on him as he spoke.

  ‘If you think you can put Findlay’s out of business without me, you’re more deluded than I thought. Look what you’ve achieved so far. First of all, you arrange to disrupt the CityView site but your muscle-man, Bruno, is so incompetent the project manager down there catches him red-handed and deals with him. I see Bruno’s still limping. If it hadn’t been for me the police would have charged him by now.’

  Vern was pleased to see the complacency disappear from Ivan’s face. He thought he knew about Findlay’s operations but the idea Vern had already played a role in covering for him was a surprise. ‘You try to scare off our bankers so ineptly that the incompetent Ben Findlay is able to reassure them without me giving him any help. And then you botch running him down. I suppose it was Bruno who mucked that up as well?’ Ivan glared at him but said nothing. ‘If you aim to wreck Findlay’s, the last person you want to put out of action is Ben Findlay. Leave him there and he’ll do it for you. If you haven’t much time we might need to help him along, and I can do anything that needs to be done without being the MD.’

  Vern glanced across at Angelo who was watching him carefully. The ghost of a grin flickered across his face when Vern added, ‘You’re going about this totally the wrong way.’

  ‘All right, smart man, what do you suggest?’ Ivan demanded.

  Vern sat silently for a moment, partly for effect, but also absorbing the significance of Ivan’s challenge. It seemed they had no inkling of the scheme he had put to Mike on Thursday. What was more, Ivan hadn’t denied Bruno was the driver of the black SUV.

  ‘I told you the other day I wanted to speak to the man calling the shots and he’s not here.’ Vern turned to nod an acknowledgement to Angelo. There was no point in putting him offside – he might need him before he was finished. ‘You’re a good builder, I know – one of the best – but the idea to undermine Findlay’s didn’t come from you, did it?

  The frown that Vern’s earlier words had brought to Angelo’s face softened, but Sarac was not going to allow him to reply. ‘Let’s get back to the point,’ Sarac said. ‘What are you suggesting?’

  ‘I’m telling you I’m not going any further until I meet your boss. If we’re going to work together I have to deal with him direct, not through the hired help.’

  Sarac’s face flared, but he brought himself under control.

  ‘Ah, difficult. He’s a man who likes to stay in the background. He only deals directly with people who’ve shown they have what it takes to work with him. You’ve shown us nothing. You’re very free with your opinions, but we haven’t even heard whether you’re coming on board.’

  ‘I’ve already started.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I’ve told you, you went for the wrong man – Ben Findlay poses no problem, but Mike Georgiou does. He’s a bloody good project manager who has kept CityView on track despite having to deal with a dud architect, an incompetent MD and your puny efforts to disrupt the site. What’s more, he’s rock solid loyal to Jim Findlay and I haven’t been able to shake him. I need to take him out for a while.’

  ‘We can do that for you,’ Ivan said with an unpleasant grin, showing all his teeth. ‘Bruno is looking for an opportunity to even the score.’

  ‘I don’t want Mike harmed.’

  ‘Getting squeamish are you? What is it they say about not being able to make an omelette without breaking eggs?’

  Vern sighed. ‘Yeah, violence can be effective, but only when it’s properly applied, and what I’ve seen of Bruno’s efforts so far tells me he doesn’t make omelettes, just an untidy mess that others have to clean up. Properly handled, Georgiou can be an important asset for us. We don’t want Bruno’s petty need for revenge to get in our way.’

  ‘You got a better idea?’

  ‘Of course. I’ve already set him up to be charged with bribery.’ Vern was pleased to see his announcement had ca
used Ivan to glance sharply at him as though having discovered a new side to him – another objective achieved. ‘I’ve also heard that young Reardon has been giving you grief and you haven’t been able to shake him off. He must be taking good care that Bruno and his mates can’t get close to him.’ Vern waited for Sarac to pour scorn over him, but he remained silent, so George Fowler’s suspicions were wrong – they hadn’t paid off Reardon. ‘I guess you won’t mind if I stitch him up at the same time as I fix Georgiou.’

  Unwilling to show himself grateful to Vern for anything, Sarac pursed his lips and frowned as if considering a difficult problem. ‘Yeah, if you can deliver on those two, my man might be willing to consider meeting you. But he’ll want more than you’ve given me so far. Tell me what you have in mind that’s so much better than our ideas.’

  ‘OK. You’d be stupid to put Findlay’s out of business when it’s much easier to take them over.’

  ‘What?’

  Vern settled down in his chair with a confident smile.

  ‘I’ll sketch it out for you. I can arrange for industrial strife on the CityView site any time I want. That will be even easier now that Ben Findlay will be back tomorrow.’ Vern was pleased to see the surprise return to Ivan’s face; here was another thing about Findlay’s that he didn’t know.

  ‘Oh, yes, Ben is making a good recovery. You couldn’t even run him down effectively. Then I can really put the wind up our bankers. I am the accountant for the firm after all. When they panic and escape to safety, along comes your boss with an offer too good to refuse. He will take over the financial backing for the company providing he’s given a controlling interest in the firm.’

  ‘And Jim Findlay will cheerfully hand that over?’ Ivan scoffed, just as Vern hoped he would.

  ‘Do you know who owns Findlay Corporation? I see you don’t. Given your limited ambitions I guess you didn’t bother to check. I have a ten per cent share Jim offered me when he first brought me into his tiny company. Cash was a problem back then, too. When your boss comes along to save us from our crisis, and wants only forty-five per cent, Jim will be delighted. It gets him out of a hole, provides him with funds for his retirement, and he retains control through my loyalty – it won’t occur to him to question that. That’s when I get my reward for all those years of unappreciated service. Money is only secondary to me.’

  ‘And why do you think we would want to own a company on the verge of bankruptcy?’ Ivan asked.

  Vern noticed Angelo had remained silent and wondered whether he was still deferring to Ivan or had begun to see where Vern was heading.

  ‘But it wouldn’t be. You’ve focused too much on CityView and not thought about the rest of the company. It has a substantial number of small, profitable projects that provide a good cash flow and will continue to do so. Just the cash flow you lack, the source of the problem for your boss.’

  Ivan shot him a dark glance while Angelo’s eyes suggested a more thoughtful appraisal. Vern turned to face Angelo.

  ‘You made a bad mistake when you put all your eggs in the Riverside basket and stopped going after the smaller jobs. I guess Riverside was a massive step up for you and, with Mancini’s backing, you didn’t need to worry about cash flow. Now though…’ He shook his head and turned back to Sarac. ‘Once you have control of Findlay’s you have the cash flow you need, you can proceed with CityView, giving you more cash, complete the redesign of Riverside and bring it back on after CityView.’

  Angelo spoke for the first time since Vern had begun. ‘He’s right. It makes good sense.’

  ‘You’re s’posed to be the brains around here. If it’s so good why did we have to wait for him to suggest it?’ Ivan demanded.

  Angelo gave a humourless smile. ‘You came along and told me what we were going to do whether I liked it or not. You didn’t want to know about any alternative.’

  While the two men continued to glare at one another, Vern decided to press Sarac once more. ‘Now you know the outline of my plan you’ll understand why I must know who I’m dealing with and whether he can deliver what I need. In any case, if he wants to stay in the shadows and take your advice on a deal like this without having a look for himself, he’s a fool and I want nothing to do with him. Is that how you got into this mess in the first place?’

  ‘Vern’s right again.’

  Angelo leaned forward, no longer the passive spectator. ‘We have to explain why we’re changing tack and he will want a lot more detail than Vern’s given us today, including all the financial details. You won’t get to first base without stumbling and you know how he’ll react to that. He’ll want to see Vern, and you need Vern to explain how the whole thing will work. This isn’t your show any more, Ivan. Vern will be the one making the running, not you.’ Angelo looked happier than he had throughout their conversation.

  For the first time since he had met Sarac, Vern saw him hesitate.

  ‘Yeah. OK. I’ll need to talk with him. I’ll call you during the week.’ He stood up and, looking down on the other two, resumed his confident air. ‘Those boys should have the steaks done nicely by now. You sticking with the whisky?’

  Vern nodded. He had achieved all his objectives.

  The crowd had thinned out when Peter Roberts came to Mike and said, ‘Spare a minute?’ He didn’t wait for an answer and led Mike through the back door into the garden where two of Peter’s children were jumping on the trampoline Demetri had insisted on erecting for his grandchildren several years ago. Peter showed no interest in supervising the children, his attention fixed on Mike. He began hesitantly. ‘I don’t know whether I should be telling you this but I think you need to know.’

  ‘What is it, Peter?’

  ‘You were surprised to see me at Bay Street yesterday. I’ve been there for a few months.’ He paused and took a deep breath. ‘It’s your dad. He’s finding it hard going these days.’

  ‘He seems OK to me. Looked very chirpy with all his old mates, here today.’

  ‘Yeah, he hides it well when he needs to, and I don’t think he’s seriously ill or anything like that, but he finds the grind of the shop hard to take. That’s why he got me back. I’m really running the business for him these days. Not that I mind. Great for me, but not so good for him, hanging about the shop like a ghost from the past. They hardly ever see him at South Melbourne and Albert Park. They’re all right – I see to that.’

  ‘Why are you telling me this?’ Mike asked, pretty certain he knew the answer.

  ‘He wants out, I reckon, but can’t figure out how to do it. He needs help from you.’

  ‘Not you too. Are you all ganging up on me? You know I’m not coming into the business.’

  ‘I know and he knows. But with all the changes in Bay Street – the changes that have occurred and the ones that are rumoured to go ahead – he’s obsessed with ensuring the Georgiou name stays on in the street and doesn’t know what to do. He needs your help.’

  Peter shook his head and smiled sheepishly. ‘You know how I feel about your dad, but I’ve got some self interest here, as well. All of us who work there do. The competition from the supermarkets gets fiercer every week. We need to change the way we go about things, alter our range. Some people sell flowers along with the fruit and vegetables, sweets and chocolates as well. He won’t hear of anything like that. I didn’t want to lumber you with this, but you are his only son.’

  9

  'Shane, it’s Mike.’

  ‘Hullo Mike. Mary tells me the party went well yesterday. That wife of yours certainly knows how to put on a good feed.’

  Hearing Mary’s name, Mike’s grip of the phone tightened. ‘We need to speak, Shane.’

  ‘I thought that’s just what we’re doing right now.’

  ‘Don’t play funny buggers with me. I don’t want to do this over the phone. We need to meet.’

  ‘Do we, pal? Now why would that be?’

  Shane continued to affect a bantering good humour, but Mike could detect the wariness in
his voice.

  ‘You know why. I want to see you today without fail, so name your time.’

  ‘Gee. Difficult. I’m really tied up today. Matter of fact they need me right now. I’ll call you back.’

  Mike frowned as the line went dead. He hadn’t wanted to wait until the afternoon but he knew Shane was almost certain to be at Doherty’s Gym after work. If he had to confront him there, that’s what he would do. There was plenty to keep him busy until then.

  As Mike put down his phone the door to his office was thrown open and Ben Findlay stood in the doorway. Mike started from his chair. ‘Ben, I didn’t know you were back on deck.’

  ‘Thought you’d be surprised.’ Ben did not smile and his eyes bored into Mike. ‘It takes more than knocking me off my bike to get rid of me. Or for me to forget what happened last Monday.’ He turned to look out over the site. ‘I’ve heard about some of your adventures while I’ve been away. It doesn’t suit me to take over from you right now, but you’ll need more than a day or so of heroics to change my mind about you. Meanwhile, I’m here to have a good look round, so take me on a tour of inspection and make it thorough.’

  After farewelling Ben, Mike reflected on the difference in atmosphere when accompanying his boss around the site, compared with the reception he had been given last Thursday. Today the crew appeared totally immersed in whatever they were doing and completely ignored the visitors. No sign of the good-natured ribbing or the admiring glances he received then. At a number of points Ben went up to one of the hands to ask a question. They were reasonable questions, although some of them displayed an ignorance of construction methods that must have surprised the men on the job. The real problem was that he seemed incapable of asking his questions without underlining he was the boss and putting his men on the defensive. How could a son of Jim Findlay so lack the common touch? Perhaps that’s what you get when you send your boy to Melbourne Grammar. It was good to see him leave. Mike also wondered how Vern felt now Ben was back. Was he still thinking about a merger with Rubicon?