Aristocratic Thieves

by Richard Dorrance

  Chapter 37: Money to Play With

  Gwen and Guignard relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, and they found an outfit in Gwen’s wardrobe for Guignard that evening. It was nothing fancy, but it gave Guignard a taste of things to come. They stopped to look into the north guest bedroom, and found the two Russian blue cats asleep on the bed with the June cat. The June dog seemed amenable to the two newcomers too; no cold war in this household, thank you. Then Gwen took Guignard into her bedroom and motioned her to a chair, while she collapsed on the bed. Gwen relaxed her body, but her mind maintained the warp speed she had generated early that morning. One characteristic all the team members had been forced to adopt early in the mission was that of being risk-takers. A second characteristic was that of trusting each other. Look at what the Junes had done with the Rodstras and Gromstovs. They had trusted them, and thank god the trust had been well placed. Gwen knew she had to continue this pattern of trusting the Russians. She explained to Guignard her tactics for dealing with the Rodstras and the Gromstovs and any other Russians that came to Charleston to buy the team’s package. She told Guignard that Slevov was key in setting up a model that would satisfy all of these folks.

  Not only was Gwen telling Guignard about her tactics, she was forming the tactics as she spoke. Guignard was her sounding board.

  The overarching strategy was to entice wealthy Russians who were sick of cold winters to spend them in Charleston, which was a low key place, off the radar of the jet-setting nouveau riches, and off the radar of those who tracked and observed such people. The goal was to appeal to a group of people who had an affinity for French culture and ocean breezes. The basic commodities were waterfront property, Russian furnishings to make them feel at home, French wine, and western cultural amenities. What the team needed now was to develop tactics that would achieve the strategic goals. For the first time since signing up for this caper, Gwen had to get specific, concrete, and real. The Rodstras and Gromstovs were the test cases. What, exactly, was she going to do to appeal to them?

  Gwen asked Guignard to get a legal pad, pen and cell phone. Lying on the bed with eyes closed, Gwen began to dictate. “Call Gale and ask her to clear her schedule for the next two days. Call Pierre and tell him to clear his afternoons for the next two days. Call Roger and tell him to get a case of aged Bordeaux out of the cellar. Call Jinny and tell him to….cancel that, Jinny is to do nothing except what Roger tells him to do. When Peter gets home, tell him to make notes about what it takes to start a ballet school. When Pater gets home, tell him to do a web-search for American ballet schools, and to print out all the information about them. Order cell phones for everyone. Tell Roger to tell Jinny to go buy two more cars. Tell Roger to call the lawyer and tell him to form an LLC in Roger’s name. Get on the Charleston real estate website and search for waterfront properties. Call Gale and ask her to get the list of foods that Jinny thinks the Rodstras and Gromstovs might like, and start buying the ingredients. Tell Roger to tell Jinny to start thinking about how to combine Russian dishes with French dishes. No wait, what the hell would Jinny know about that? Go to Barnes and Noble and buy a Russian cuisine cookbook. Do you guys have cookbooks? Call Gale and tell her you, Slevov, and her are going to start cooking French food three times a day. Gale knows French food. Make that two meals a day, the French know nothing about breakfast. We’ll serve the Russians English breakfasts. Search the web for someone selling Petrova .45 cals and Brusshev 10mms. Call McCrady’s and rent the private dining room for Saturday night. Tell them we will be in tomorrow to discuss the menu, and that the food will match wines we will provide. Call Roger and tell him to get some champagne out of the cellar, and a couple of whites. Tell Roger to tell Jinny to clean the Beretta, the Glock, and the Sig Sauer. And tell him to go to Wal-Mart and buy a lot of targets. Go to the Gaillard Theater website and see what performances are coming up in the next few weeks. Same for the Memminger. Same for the American Ballet Theater and the City Ballet in New York. Send an email to The Deneuve and tell her I love her.”

  Guignard wondered what the hell was going on. Her hand was cramping up with all the writing. Was everyday going to be like this, crazy, morning till night, spending money on everything, getting ordered around? In Saint Petersburg she had been the one doing all the ordering. Was this deal going to be a good thing? What about all this French food, what if she didn’t like it? What was Wal-Mart? What was The Deneuve?

  Gwen, sensing Guignard’s reservations, stopped talking and looked up. “Got all that, babe?” She followed this with a smile at Guignard, which seemed to make things alright.

  Guignard asked, “Is everyday going to be like this?”

  Gwen felt rested from her time on the horizontal. She sat up, motioned Guignard over to the bed, and said, “We’re going to have a blast over the next month or so. This is going to be cultural bootcamp for you and the rest of them. French food, clothes, music, looking at houses, restaurants, southern food, shooting guns, walking on the beach, drinking good wine, and reading Russian poetry (huh, where did that last item come from?). We’re going to be one big happy American-Russian family. And this is why it’s going to work, ok. Slevov and I are special friends. We have a special understanding.” Guignard looked puzzled. Gwen said, “Before we came to Saint Petersburg, Roger, Jinny and I spent three weeks in France, meeting people in the wine industry and making deals. One of the people we met was a famous French actress by the name of Catherine Deneuve. Even though she’s sixty-seven years old, she’s one of the world’s most beautiful women. But she is more than that. She’s special. She embodies French culture, and she represents France in many important ways. Catherine and I and Roger shared a connection, and because of that, Catherine came with us on our tour of the wine country. We spent two weeks together, and at the end of that time, Catherine and I had forged a bond. This happened because Catherine shared something special with me. It’s a special way for a woman to act that has an influence over people around her. I watched how Catherine behaved around people, and she told me things from her experience. I learned something very important from her. Something amazing.”

  Guignard thought Gwen would tell her what this amazing thing was, but she didn’t. Gwen stopped talking and looked off into space for a moment. When she turned back she said, “Guignard do you remember the time at Jinny’s apartment when Slevov and I went into the kitchen? We spent time in there while you talked in the living room. Well, Slevov and I did some special talking then, and we became friends, and what Catherine does with a lot of people, almost everyone she meets, I was able to do with Slevov. And now I think Slevov is going to help us with her husband and with the Gromstovs, and with any other Russians who come to Charleston for our package. She's our inside weapon. You and Jinny are going to be very important in everything we do, and Slevov is going to help us too. Do you understand?”

  Guignard didn’t have a clue what Gwen was saying, but she believed it all, and decided she hardly could wait for the dance to begin. She thought if every day was going to be like this one, she had a rockin’ good time to look forward to. What a change from her life on the grounds of the Hermitage. She and Jinny, together in Charleston, USA. What a world.