The Miko - 02 (56 page)

But Nangi had to ask himself what the Chinese really wanted out of this deal. They did not easily part with such tremendous amounts of money. Profits, yes. But they could get profits in a number of different areas and with a much smaller outlay. Nangi’s mind raced to find the answer to a question he knew Liu would never willingly provide him with. But there were other answers which the Chinese would have to give him and perhaps if he asked the right questions Liu would give him the solution without knowing it.

“Tell me, Mr. Liu,” he said now, “what do your people propose to do with your one-third interest?”

“Do?” he said, shifting in his chaise. “I do not follow you.”

The young Chinese girl had been joined by another and Nangi was hard put to discern which one was wearing the skimpier suit. A wicker basket now sat between them, a treasure chest on the sand from which one took a bottle of wine, pouring them both half tumblers of the pale gold liquid. As they lay back on their blankets he could see the soft, succulent swells of their breasts.

“It’s quite simple,” Nangi said without taking his eyes off the girls; they were a good deal more pleasant to look at than the man reclining beside him. “Before I even consider allowing an outside, er, firm access to the
keiretsu
—no matter the price—I need to know what it intends to do with its investment.”

“Why, make money, of course,” Liu said. “What other possible reason could we have?”

Nangi smiled thinly as he spread his hands. “You may be able to understand my caution. I have had little contact with members of…your firm.”

“Perfectly understandable,” Liu said a bit more amiably; he had begun to sense a thaw. “I would suspect your own motives if I did not detect your caution. This is, after all, not the sort of business deal one puts together every day. In some ways we are a very young country, Mr. Nangi. The world outside the Divine Kingdom is new to us. Very simply put, there are those currently in power in Peking who wish to probe the beginnings of an Oriental Alliance. They feel a business partnership—strictly business—is a sensible way in which to, er, get the ball rolling.”

As if on cue, the two Chinese girls were packing up their belongings. The sun seemed very hot even here in the protection of the veranda—while they talked all the ice had melted in the pitcher of tea—and the dazzle of the water was blinding, like strips of endless gold.

“Though this is an extraordinary opportunity,” Liu continued as he mopped his forehead with a handkerchief, “time is of the essence and once you leave China”—he shrugged—“I fear it will no longer obtain.”

“Surely you cannot expect me to make such a monumental judgment concerning my
keiretsu
in the blink of an eye?” Nangi said, turning his head toward Liu and away from the girls, who were busy brushing sand from their sleek, oiled thighs.

“On the contrary, Mr. Nangi,” Liu said, tapping a long-nailed finger against a portion of his silk suit directly over his heart, “I expect nothing. Rather it is you who must deal—and deal quickly—with the All-Asia’s unfortunate difficulties. Bank runs are like wildfire here, Mr. Nangi. Once the Chinese get something into their heads it is often an astoundingly short time before matters get out of control. The Royal Hong Kong Police are well aware of this peculiarity and thus seek to thwart congregating masses. A flame in and of itself is not a particularly dangerous element. But lit at a gas station, well…” Liu’s hands spread.

“So you may take all the time you wish, Mr. Nangi. Please do not feel any pressure from this quarter to come to a decision.” He reached into an inside pocket of his jacket. “However, in a friendly effort, to, er, provide you with some assistance, I have taken the liberty of having the papers drawn up.”

“I see.” Nangi thought about the implications of this for quite some time.

Liu could not quite keep the smug smile off his face. “Despite some curious Western depictions we run quite a well-oiled machine.”

“Yes,” Nangi said, hating this man with a much more detached passion now, “I can see that.”

“Oh, no, Mr. Nangi. You will pardon me for saying so, but you do not see it at all.” Liu paused as the two Chinese girls, coming in off the beach, wiped their sandy feet on the lowest step of the veranda. His deep avian eyes studied the face of one—the tall one who had been on the beach when Nangi had first arrived—as if his gaze could penetrate the shadows as well as the cascade of thick hair that fell across one shoulder. In a moment they were gone, stepping silently past the two men into the interior of the villa.

“We shall have dinner soon,” Liu said. “Local langoustes and garoupa, as well as braised sun bear paw, quite the delicacy here.” His attitude had altered somewhat at the approach of the women and Nangi struggled with that fleeting change, trying to divine its essence.

“But, back to the topic at hand,” Liu continued somewhat more briskly. “We are very well coordinated in Hong Kong; far better and more extensively than the British would dare consider.” His shoulders lifted and fell. “And why not? Hong Kong is our property, after all. The true Government of China has never recognized a treaty signed under duress, when a different age caused men to act dishonorably. We tolerate the British rule because it is useful to us. I would not deny how lucrative it is for us. That would be foolish.” Liu stood up abruptly. “But I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He reached into his inside jacket pocket and revealed a multipage document folded twice on itself. Carefully, he placed the document on the small table between them before continuing.

His eyes seemed to glow with an inner light. “The recent land boom is ours.” His head bobbed. “Yes, it is true, Mr. Nangi. The recent six-year real estate spiral was instigated by us. You see, we had planned all along to make our announcement repudiating the Crown Colony’s right to govern here. But first we had to bring home to them the true import of the situation within which they would one day find themselves.”

Liu was smiling now with an evil triumph. “Nowadays, you see, it is we who are the master. We say ‘Jump!’ and the Queen jumps. The whole world saw it. Her Majesty’s loss of face was enormous in hastening here and abasing herself at our feet in order to ensure her country’s continued interests in this quarter of the world.

“But that humiliation would not have been so great, Britain’s situation quite so dire without the illustration of how, with a few well-chosen words, we are able to shake the Western economy of this Colony, of how we are able to affect the finances of so many.”

Liu’s fingers were clasped behind his back. “Even you, Mr. Nangi, must admit that our latest five-year plan is a brilliant one; the only way to gain our goal: the eventual total control of the vast monetary flow in and out of Hong Kong.”

Nangi reached for the folded document and began to read it assiduously in order to calm himself. God in heaven, he thought. If the Crown’s authorities ever got wind of this they’d have a collective stroke at the very least. Surely the Colony’s chief of police and internal security would be given the ax. How could this kind of manipulation have gone on right under their noses? It must have been vast! Ah, Madonna, they’re all fools here! My own people were totally foxed. And I was convinced they were well informed. Why should the officials here be any different?

But debating unanswered questions was a waste of time and he quickly turned his mind to other matters. First and foremost, the contract. On initial reading it appeared to be hardnosed but essentially fair. There were no hidden strings, no floating clauses that Liu had not brought up.

Nangi raised his head for a moment, coming up for air. “I see here on page three that the first inflow of capital doesn’t commence until ninety days after the signing of this contract.”

Liu nodded, delighted they had gotten this far. “That is correct. There are a number of, er, realistic entanglements at gathering and transshipping that large an amount of money.”

“Gold.”

“If that is your wish. It will be handled via the Sun Wa Trading Company.”

“But surely your…ah…firm is of a sufficient size to begin payment on signing.”

Now Liu’s long face looked pained. His hands, coming around from behind his back, were like prehensile hooks. “Regrettably, accelerating the timetable of payments is impossible. My firm has a number of prior commitments that it must see to concluding first. There just isn’t enough capital for another ninety days or so.”

Nangi sat up, grasping the white jade dragon head of his walking stick. Now we come to the nub of it all, he thought. I must outmaneuver him here or not at all. “Mr. Liu, as you yourself have said, my situation vis-à-vis the All-Asia Bank is critical. If I am forced to wait three months for your money, I will lose that part of my
keiretsu.
That would not be in either of our interests.” And Nangi thought desperately, How I wish we were already one with the American company so that I could call down their capital. But he saw the impossibility of the situation. Even had Sato’s
kobun
merged with Sphynx he did not believe that the company could have provided enough money within the deadline period. Maddeningly, Liu was right. He had to stave off the run before it became a stampede. Otherwise no amount of infused capital would save the bank.

Liu said nothing, tapped his fingertips together to an odd internal rhythm.

“Time is of the essence for me as well as for you,” Nangi said, carefully feeding emotion into his voice. “If I decide to sign—and as you have said that must be before I leave Hong Kong—then there must be a rider that specifies delivery of enough capital to cover the anticipated run and the short-term obligations—say the next six months—the bank is required to pay.” Nangi, concealing all emotion from his face and voice, took a mental deep breath. It was sink or swim now, he knew. “Thirty-five million dollars, U.S., payable no later than twelve hours after signing.”

Liu was silent for a moment. Beneath the sounds of the quiet surf they could hear the small, comforting clinks as the women worked in the kitchen. Liu required of all his women that they be able to cook, and cook well. He tapped the side of a nail against his pursed lips.

“You drive a hard bargain. That is a not inconsiderable sum.”

“You ought to know,” Nangi said, gambling. “You’re the one who got me into this.”

Liu managed a smile. Nangi took that as a sign that the Chinese could not contain his pride and he thought, I’m leading him in the right direction.

“Perhaps, after all, something of the sort could be arranged.” Liu nodded as if in final decision. “Yes. I believe that we might be able to deduct that much from the first of the payments to the
keiretsu.
”

Oh, no, you don’t, Nangi thought. “The thirty-five million is over and above the purchase price, totally independent and non-recoverable. I don’t want the bank’s financial operations tied to the
keiretsu
in any way. Ultimately that would hamper our profit potential here, as well you know.”

Nangi’s heart thudded wildly as Liu considered the proposition. His hooded eyes revealed nothing. Nangi knew that this was his chance: an immediate bailout, an infusion of desperately needed capital in exchange for a third interest in the
keiretsu.
Troublesome but not crucial. Between them, he and Sato could veto anything the Communists wanted that they did not. Besides, working with and not against the Communists in their own country would bring its own rewards.

Liu, for his part, was taking somewhat longer than Nangi judged he needed to make the decision. He was as still as a statue, his parchmentlike skin glowing in the light. At length he stirred, as a constrictor will when it has roused itself from a long somnolence and is preparing itself to feed again.

“It can be done,” Liu said. “In that event, however, we would require that you sign over to us a somewhat larger portion of your
keiretsu.
Fifty-one percent.”

Nangi showed none of the terror that gripped his heart in that terrible frozen moment. Fifty-one percent! Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, he thought. Sato and I will lose control of our own company!

“I should not be making this offer at all, you know.” Liu’s voice had turned plummy. “My government does not easily cast that much money on the, er, international waters.” He leaned forward. “But I see that you are much like your company and that pleases me. Together we can make a fortune here and in your country.” He stood up. “It has been a long day for us both. I trust you are as famished as I am.”

He smiled down at Nangi. “This offer is one of a kind. I would caution you about that. Six
P.M.
tomorrow is the deadline. And that is absolute.” He lifted a hand, the perfect host. “And now to the food.”

During dinner Nangi spent more time watching Liu’s woman than he did his host. Liu took this as a good sign. It signified to him that Nangi was a first-class lecher and he giggled to himself, made secure.

“Let’s go inside.”

She shook her head, her long dark hair straying across his cheek and shoulder. “I want to be out here. We’re elementals now. It’s where we belong.”

Nicholas felt her soft and yielding against him; his mind was numb with disbelief. She was someone else’s wife. And that someone else was his friend. They had shared drunkenness, secrets; they had sworn to be bound together. That part of his mind—the rational part—quailed as her naked flesh slid over him. And what of Justine? Wasn’t there a matter of honor where she was concerned? He knew that his love for her was undiminished, untouched by this moment and what it held. An internal shudder wracked his soul. He should stop this, rise up and walk away into the sanctuary of Sato’s house. But he did nothing of the kind. Justine was a faraway flame, bending in the windstorm of his current emotions. He breathed a prayer to her even as he drew this creature more tightly to him.

He could not help himself. His body yearned for Akiko as if she were food, drink, oxygen to fill his lungs. He could no more disentangle himself from her than he could still his pulse.

Akiko’s yellow and green kimono lay behind her buttocks in hills and valleys of its own, the folds holding deep shadows as if they were secrets. Both of them were enfolded within his kimono—Sato’s kimono.