Wings of the Morning

by Julian Beale

  David moved in quickly.

  ‘I’m sure you’ll have questions for Fergus but first, I’d like to bring in Hugh. He will talk to us about finance and his initiatives which have produced an additional benefit. Hugh.’ Dundas pushed his chair back, rose onto his large feet and commenced a slow walk around the room, speaking as he went.

  ‘Please excuse me. I’m just feeling a little cramped and a circuit or two will help.

  ‘Now, money. Obviously, this is an expensive operation and like most budgets, ours has got bigger as time’s gone by. It’s difficult to quantify and we simply must not be underfunded. I can promise you all, that’s not going to happen, but we’ve had to increase our valuation considerably since Fergus, Felix and I started to work it through. As a round figure, the total required for Zero, including a 20% reserve for contingencies, now stands at five billion US dollars.’

  There were gasps around the table which coincided with Hugh regaining his seat. He sat at ease and let his gaze drift over them before he resumed.

  ‘Please don’t be alarmed. It is a large figure, but quite possible to achieve. Let me explain. There are three elements to the finance plan and the first is the Zero cash account. We are already drawing down on this to meet the costs which Fergus has incurred to date, but it started with a fund of about 1.2 billion US. A quarter came through The Mansion House Charity which is in the personal control of David and Martin but really, it’s David’s money. The remainder is my own contribution which I have accrued over time through liquidating investments. I’ve moved slowly to avoid unwelcome interest in my activities. It helped that I was not only trading stocks and securities but also investments in kind, so for example, I’ve just sold two properties, one being a ranch in Wyoming. It’s a fine place which I took in satisfaction of a debt but now the fortunes of the previous owner have recovered and he was pleased to buy it back in cash and at a decent profit.

  ‘All this money was paid into my bank in the British Virgin Islands, and incidentally, it really is my bank which matters because I can guarantee absolute security of information.

  ‘Now for the other two elements on which I am moving forward concurrently. The first is a charity which is entirely genuine in its endgame but also has a prior purpose. Having conceived the idea, I refined it through discussion with David and Martin. The end result my own charitable foundation and I have given it a name. It’s called Orphans of Africa.

  ‘I have brought with me copies of the prospectus. As you’ll see later, the foundation targets the tragic circumstances of children and young people across Africa between the ages of five and twenty-five. Through war, refugee displacement, disease and especially AIDS, they are abandoned in their millions to struggle on alone except in each other’s company, living perilously close to the breadline, quite unprepared and uneducated to take on the mantle of next generation Africans. They are reproducing themselves in numbers and circumstances which can only make matters worse.

  ‘Orphans of Africa has been established to provide a framework of help with housing, sustenance, education and training. The plan is for Orphans to grow exponentially over the next twenty years so that the continent can reverse the tide of deprivation. We have set up a management operation to get things moving. A Malaysian is running it, an excellent man, and to suit him we’ve taken offices in Kuala Lumpur.

  ‘The main effort, both his and mine, is to gain commitment for funding. I have started Orphans with $100 million, but we will soon start advertising for donors. We also need some serious investment from world organisations and we are now concentrating on two sources in particular. First, there’s the United Nations in the form of several of its agencies such as UNICEF, the Children’s Fund and UNDP which is concerned with infrastructure development. In addition, we are pushing hard for money from the European Union, specifically the European Development Fund or EDF: the former colonial powers are awash with cash and conscience. We can use the latter to get at the former.

  ‘Fundraising from any source always takes time, but providing we keep plugging away at it, I’m confident we can swell the coffers of Orphans to 1.3 billion, including what’s promised by international agencies. During the next year, we’ll be starting to spend the money on Zero.’

  Pente interrupted vigorously, ‘but that’s pure deception, Hugh, it’s robbery!’

  ‘You’re right, Pente. It’s exactly that. And there’s worse to come, but hear me out and I believe you’ll be satisfied.’

  He did not wait for further comments before continuing.

  ‘The third and most productive element goes under the name of Dundas Securities. This is a fund which I have created for international investments and I have chosen the title deliberately because I want to maximise the appeal of my name. Through track record and reputation, a fair proportion of the world’s most wealthy have come to see me as a reliable guide to making the most of their money. I’m not mincing my words here and I make no apology. This is an asset of which I’m taking full advantage. I’m targeting here those around the globe with assets numbered in hundreds of millions, including individuals who have not generated their own wealth but are the beneficiaries of family fortunes.

  ‘Dundas Securities is established in Hong Kong. I have invested in it some of my cash from the BVI Bank and I’m using this to pay a dividend which comfortably exceeds the performance of any competitor. The results are published, of course, their excellence has attracted a following. The target clientele is enthusiastic for this new Fund and is encouraging a second division of investors. Now this technique for attracting capital is a fraud. It’s a Ponzi scheme, in this case using my money to pay dividends which could not, in reality, be achieved.

  ‘It is true that we are acting dishonestly, but it is the only way in which we can meet our objectives within the required timescale. Please be reassured however. Investors in Dundas Securities will reap a very fair reward through the issue of government bonds from our new state and donors to Orphans of Africa will see their money spent as intended, although the process will be delayed.

  ‘Finally, I make a commitment to you. Should disaster strike and Zero fail, then the financial burden will be mine to bear alone. That’s the deal. I am Zero’s banker, and I carry the can.’

  David was not surprised to pick up the adverse body language around the table as Hugh concluded. Pente, King and Martin in particular, but Ruth also. Perhaps Hugh could have been more gentle with them, but the bulk of the money and all the commitment was his. If there was another way to do it, they didn’t have the knowledge and they didn’t have the time.

  He needed to take control and said,

  ‘Thank you Hugh. We’ll come back to this, but I want you all to hear a final piece of scene setting from me. Do you remember that I posed the question earlier, how do you put a strike force in place without advertising its arrival?

  ‘Well it’s Hugh who found the solution while he was addressing a completely different problem. He created Orphans of Africa to give us funding, but Orphans will provide us also with Zero’s coup de maître — our master stroke.

  ‘Look. The genuine aspiration for Orphans is that it will grow to embrace all of Africa. It’s a brilliant concept which will provide a life line to millions of young Africans. That’s what will happen. But the first port of call for the charity will be the landing ground for Zero. That is a subterfuge. I acknowledge the fact but it carries great benefits. It helps us to prepare ourselves in secret and to arrive without warning. That will dramatically reduce opposition which will save lives and bloodshed. And in addition, we can start right now to advertise Orphans of Africa worldwide.

  ‘I can sense your concerns and I know there’s more to debate but let’s look first at the rest of the plan. To win a welcome, Zero must make a difference to the people of the country, a total and mind zapping impact. We need to bring immediate benefits which can be recognised on the very day of our arrival.

  ‘How do we do that? Felix and I wrestled wi
th it. We need skills, therefore people. We need equipment, materials, stores. But we’re not starting with nothing. There are assets already in place. There are drains and dams and roads and power stations and a municipal bus service. OK, they’re in a bad state but they do exist. There are basics which operate. Our task is to repair and improve — quickly.

  ‘For this, we want the basic skills. We need more builder than architect, more doctor than brain surgeon, we want cooks, mechanics and plumbers. We can get to poets and lecturers later. First priority is to get the show onto a better maintained road.

  ‘So how do we get there with all our people and kit? Fergus has told you that Zero Strike Force will travel by sea and so will all the other elements of Zero. There will be three ships in total, plus one plane.

  ‘Our principal vessel is now called “MV Orphans Angel”. She was built in Germany in 1995. About 75000 gross tonnage, some 900 feet long and 110 wide. Ten decks. Constructed for the cruise market. She was to be mothballed for a couple of years because her owners had found a larger liner for their West Coast and Alaska business. Orphans has chartered her for a five year term. Under our contract, we are permitted to convert her, so the “Angel” is now docked in Korea with changes being made to her accommodation. She will emerge with fewer bars and restaurants, the most spacious cabins becoming workplaces, one cinema converted to a conference hall, the gymnasium much enlarged and better equipped, a huge supermarket and a complete hospital section. The “Angel” is a fine ship and she has come to us with an established skipper, an Australian, plus his officers and about half the required complement of crew.

  ‘The other two vessels are container carriers built about twelve years ago, fifteen thousand tons each and both are roll on – roll off. We have bought them outright and we have a captain and crew for one, but not yet for the other. We have called them “Orphans Hope” and “Orphans Dawn”, a bit schmaltzy but good for PR.

  ‘“Orphans Hope” is currently under sub contract and doing work between Europe and Russia. She will come back to us next summer in July, and will get a thorough inspection in Rotterdam before proceeding to Felixstowe for loading in October 1999. She will carry all of our back up supplies: food, both dry and refrigerated, and a huge variety of other stores as well, everything from furniture to fireworks, medicines to metals, cookers to cradles.

  ‘“Orphans Dawn” is different. As you’ve heard from Fergus, she will transport our strike force and the fuel reservoir which we’ll need, particularly for the aircraft but also for the armoured cars, Land Rovers, trucks, forklifts, generators. She’s now at a shipyard in Pakistan. They’re making a form of flight deck on her, but it’s hidden behind a wall of empty containers and they’re adding a machine lift so there’ll be access to the deck below. “Dawn” will emerge as a fighting ship in disguise and able to fly off the helicopters she carries.

  ‘Now back to the big ship — “Orphans Angel”. When her conversion is complete, “Angel” will leave Korea and make her way to Hong Kong, arriving there in about twelve months’ time. It’s a very expensive place to berth but Hugh and I think it will be worth making a news splash. It will be at this destination that the recruits to Orphans of Africa will enrol and it will be from Hong Kong that “Angel” will sail with much publicity and cork popping.

  ‘I have a little more detail for you on how this programme will progress. Felix is working to finalise the skills we want to hire. We’ve already started to interview locally in Europe, the States and Asia but the process of engaging people won’t crank up until the middle of next year. The basic deal, however, will be the same for all to whom we offer a job. The contract of employment is for twelve months commencing 1st December 1999, including two months paid leave to be taken at the end. So you’re paid ’till November 2000, free to go at the end of September. Salaries vary according to the post, but all to be paid by transfer from Hugh’s Bank in Tortola, BVI. Follow on contracts available in principle, to be negotiated during year One. You are flown free to the ship in Hong Kong and at termination back to your airport of origin. No cost of living. Food and accommodation provided on the “Angel”. No further perks or bonus. If you want health or life insurance, fix it for yourself.’

  ‘I am quite sure,’ said David, ‘that this package is going to produce all the applicants we want. We’ll need to weed them out carefully, but there are sure to be some rotten apples and we just have to deal with them as and when. But there’s something further of course. All these people, from all around the world are essentially being engaged under false pretences. The business plan for Orphans is perfectly genuine and reflects all our aspirations. But we make no mention of the first part, the interregnum during which we are taking over a country and establishing a brand new nation. If that deception offends anyone, we don’t argue. We simply pay them up and fly them home.’

  It was Pente who interrupted him, ‘how many are we talking about, David?’

  ‘Round figures. The “Angel” carries three thousand. Say five hundred crew and the rest our recruits to the Orphans mission.’

  There was the immediate expostulation around the table which he had anticipated. He held up his hands to gain some silence and went on.

  ‘I know. These are big numbers, and so are the costs for them — win or lose. And of course, Zero Strike Force is on top and much more expensive per head. In addition, there’s all the hardware and equipment. But we can’t do things by halves: that way leads to frustration at best or disaster at worst.’

  David paused briefly before moving towards his conclusion.

  ‘There’s no time limit to our discussion today and you can look at all our figures as closely as you like. But first, hear again from Hugh as to where we are on the money.’

  On cue, Hugh came in.

  ‘I’ve only one thing to add. We can get to the total five billion from the sources I’ve covered. I’m quite sure of that, but my confidence received a boost from news just a week ago when Dundas Securities received its single largest investment. It’s for one billion dollars and it has reached us from a lawyer in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. He’s a man named Carl J Brogan and I know the identity of his largest client. Brogan has acted over the last twenty years for Mobutu Sese Seko, the deceased President of Zaire. Brogan continues to look after the estate for his inheritors. It’s a fine irony that this contribution to Zero comes from an African ruler who was famously corrupt. Mobutu embezzled over five billion US dollars during his rule and now twenty per cent has come back to help with a new start on the continent.’

  The participants in this crucial meeting were by now mostly slumped in their chairs, exhausted by the concepts and the figures. David acknowledged this by suggesting a break for them all and a chance for some individual conversations.

  ‘You have listened to a great deal of detail,’ he told them, ‘but it’s the whole of the grand plan which flays the senses. I know and I understand. I’ve been living with it for so long and I still peek over that precipice myself. You have every right to ask if this is a new dawn — or a perfect storm. All I ask is for your complete and honest reactions. Hold nothing back.’

  By now, he was standing and starting to move towards the buffet, checking his watch and not surprised to find the time already past 4 pm. Outside, London’s winter evening wrapped itself around them. There was an aura of detachment. Everybody moved from the table, some through the door towards the washrooms, others to the buffet. David’s assistant Ursula bustled out in search of fresh coffee. David took another glass and returned to his seat. He sensed dejection amongst them, disappointment: or was it disbelief? Aischa came to sit with him and they whispered together as he described his feelings.

  She shook her head.

  ‘It’s none of those, Darling one. It’s exhaustion. There’s a huge lot to take in and you’ve worn us out. But not completely: look at Hugh and Felix, all pumped up and raring to go.’

  David glanced around and could see she was right. She spoke aga
in, ‘give us a good break. I’m just going to the loo, but I’ll be right back.’ They smiled at each other as she slipped away and David slouched back, sipping at his tonic water and feeling refreshed by her words.

  There was more comfort to come from King Offenbach, who sat on one corner of the table swinging his leg as he began,

  ‘I’d as soon keep this between ourselves, David. It’s spooks territory and it won’t help anyone else to know about it.’

  David looked up at the familiar, quizzical smile and immediately felt invigorated. It was clear that King was coming from acceptance and embellishment rather than rejection.

  ‘Go on,’ he said.

  ‘OK, my friend, I’ll do just that. But first, a mite of reassurance for you. I’ve not changed my mind. I’m with you like I said before and I’ll be staying that way. That’s a promise, and I can add something to it now. I’m mighty impressed. You’ve done a whole lot of work to pull all this together, David. Of course, you’ve got the help of one powerful team what with Felix and this Fergus who looks damn good to me. To say nothing of Hugh Dundas,’ and King shook his head in admiration, ‘extraordinary guy. But with all of that, it’s you who’s taking the point and driving Zero forward. Congratulations.’

  ‘Thank you, King.’

  ‘They’re well deserved. But now, here’s my contribution. You’re well prepared already and you’ll sure as hell be doing a whole lot more during the next twelve months. I’m pretty confident that you’ll steam right on in there, but my thinking is around what happens after. What’s the rest of the world going to say? What’s going to be international reaction and response even? Have you given that any thought, David?’

  ‘Well yes, I have, King but maybe not enough. What’s your point?’