by Glenn, Roy
"They tell me that some of the old hard-liners call it ideological contamination," Martin said, and everybody but me laughed.
I considered myself to be a smart guy. I took every opportunity I could to read and keep myself informed about current events, but the state of the business climate in Cuba wasn’t something I kept up with. Although all this talk bored me, I understood that if I was gonna continue to play in this league, I’d have to get up to speed on this shit and do it quick.
"Once approved, business operations in Cuba are increasingly centralized in government hands; though Cuban law permits one hundred percent foreign ownership," Chang continued. "Most foreign companies operate through partnerships with the government and hold only minority control."
"That is something we hope to avoid in this venture," Martin added and all agreed.
"As Chinese loans and hefty Venezuelan oil subsidies lift Cuba from its economic hole, the government is getting more selective about what foreign investment it approves and what foreign companies can do for the economy. For that reason, I have taken the liberty of asking an associate of mine from Venezuela to join in our discussion today."
"I don’t think that will be a problem," Martin said tentatively and glanced at me.
"The problem, as you know, Mr. Marshall, is that US scrutiny and sanctions against banks and other companies that do business both with Cuba and the United States have become so tough, that some international firms are opting not to work with Cuba and to safeguard their larger and more lucrative US operations. This is where, as a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, we hope that you will be most useful," Jiang said.
"Of course that is all dependent on how the environment in Cuba moves," Martin told his Chinese friends.
"Yes, of course. We will do our part to move things in that direction. But what I need are assurances from you that when the time comes, you will be able to produce," Chang pressed.
"On this you have my word," Martin said.
At that moment, Mei Ai Bao knocked on the door.
"Will you gentlemen excuse us for just a moment?"
"Please, go ahead," Martin said, and both Chang and Jiang went inside the suite. I got up and leaned over the rail. Martin came to join me.
"You’ve been very quiet," Martin said.
"I don’t talk about things I don’t know about."
"A wise practice. But I thought it was important for you to be here because you’re the one who is going to be dealing with these guys if we can workout something together."
"I understand that. I just don’t like sitting here looking stupid. And what was that look about when Chang told you about the Venezuelan joining us?"
"I don’t like surprises," Martin said.
"Then why didn’t you say so?"
"Didn’t want to make an issue of it at this stage in the process."
"I understand that, but you gotta let them know that shit ain’t cool, so it won’t happen next time. I’ll take care of it."
"What are you gonna do?"
"I’ll be diplomatic. Don’t worry, Martin, I’m not gonna hang them by their ankles off the balcony or some shit like that," I assured him.
When Jiang came to say that it was time to go to the meeting, Martin went inside, and I asked Jiang to come out for a minute.
"I hope that we will be able to do business together and that it will be very profitable for both of us," I began.
"That is my wish as well," Jiang replied.
"But in the future, any changes to agenda or in participants in our discussions, I need to know about them in advance."
Jiang smiled. "I assure you, Mr. Black, that will not happen again. Please accept my apology." Jiang looked inside the suite and then turned back to me. "I will be honest with you because I believe you to be a man of honor."
"Thank you."
"I was not informed of the Venezuelans being added to our discussion until this morning. I, like you, don’t like surprises. And I don’t know if I trust the Venezuelans."
"Anything I need to know about?"
"Nothing in particular, just past experience with them leads me to be a little overcautious at times."
"Being overcautious has saved my life many times in my past experiences," I said.
"As it has mine as well," Jiang agreed. "I think I am going to like working with you, Mr. Black. I think you and I will find that we have a great deal in common," he said and extended his hand for me to go inside.
"We’ll see," I said as I passed.
The meeting was to take place in one of the hotel’s Samana Cay conference rooms and catered by the hotel’s China Beach restaurant.
When we reached the ground floor, Xiang Yong positioned himself in the lobby to wait, while we proceeded to the Samana Cay room.
When the guests were escorted in, Chang made introductions. "Mr. Marshall, Mr. Black, this is Silvestre de la Toribio representing the Foreign Trade Ministry, and representing the sugar industry, is Soberón Nicodemo Plácido."
"My friends, this is Maximino Cristóbal. He is representing our friends from Venezuela," Toribio told the group.
"It was my understanding that my friend Clemente Eustaquio would be joining us for this discussion?" Chang said.
"Clemente was detained by other more pressing matters and asked me to take his place," Cristóbal informed them. "But I assure you that I can speak for Clemente in all matters."
Jiang leaned close to me. "I don’t like this."
"I hope it is nothing too serious?" Chang asked.
"Nothing serious. He said to tell you that he wishes he could be here himself, but this couldn’t be helped, and that he will call you in a day or two."
"All right then. Please be seated," Chang said and each man took his seat.
"Chang is far too trusting," Jiang whispered to me.
Once they were seated, a meal of Pan-Asian cuisine was served. It included items from their sushi bar: chicken satay and Thai spring rolls; Tempura; steamed grouper; roast duck; Singapore noodles; and Sichuan prawns.
After the wait staff served the food, the discussion began in earnest. "Like offshore oil, Cuban ethanol would not be available overnight. Sugar production has dropped precipitously and Cuba lacks substantial bio-refinery capacity," Plácido told the group.
"Whether that capacity can be constructed faster than Exxon can find oil and build platforms, is an open question," Martin added.
"But the difference is that Cuba could certainly grow far more sugar cane than it does currently. And once the oil is gone, there will be no more, while cane can grow year after year indefinitely; and do it without contributing to climate change or polluting the oceans," Toribio commented.
"Aside from pandering to the exile community in Miami, the sole argument against doing business with Cuba is the repressive nature of that regime," Cristóbal said.
"All true," Martin said.
"Whether we allow foreign investment in the sugar and ethanol industries remains to be seen. We have begun overhauling our ethanol refineries, but that is an expensive proposition, and the money will have to come from somewhere," Plácido said.
"That is of course why we’re here," Chang laughed and everybody but me and Jiang joined in. As the debate raged on, I began to get a sense of who Jiang was. I thought about what he said before we left the room. I think you and I will find that we have a great deal in common. When this boring-ass meeting was over, I would call Wanda and have her find out just who my new friends were.
From there, the conversation turned to investment in ethanol or oil production between Cristóbal and Plácido, until Chang had heard enough. "Would you gentlemen excuse us for a moment or two?"
Once Cristóbal, Plácido, and Toribio left the room, Chang turned to Martin. "What do you think, my friend?"
"For my money, ethanol production is the only way to go. I didn’t come here to talk about oil."
"I must say that I agree.
But Clemente Eustaquio is an old friend and we have done business for years. I only invited him as a courtesy. What do you say, Jiang?"
"Ethanol is the future and we must look to the future."
"What about you, Mr. Black?" Martin asked and all eyes turned to me.
"Like the man said, when the oil is gone it’s gone. You can always grow more sugar cane."
"Then we are in agreement," Chang said and stood up. He went to the door and asked the others to come in. Once they had reclaimed their seats, Chang told them of our decision. "At this time, gentlemen, we feel that it is in our long-term interest to make our investment in ethanol production."
Plácido and Toribio shook hands and seemed to be very happy with the decision. But Cristóbal, on the other hand, was not. He rose to his feet. "I think you gentlemen are making a big mistake. However, I will take your decision back to Clemente Eustaquio, and I am sure that he will be in touch with you, Chang."
"I will anxiously await his call," Chang said and bowed.
Cristóbal left the room and left the other men to shake hands on their new deal. When they left the Samana Cay room and went outside, I walked with Martin to a limo that was waiting.
"What now, Martin?"
"I have a charter waiting to take me back to the States. What about you?"
"I’m on vacation."
"Well enjoy yourself. We’ll talk when you get back to New York." Martin got in the limo and the driver closed the door.
After Martin drove off, I looked around and saw Jiang standing by another limo. I walked over to him. "I want you to know that it was my pleasure to meet you, Mr. Black. And I, too, am looking forward to doing business with you. As I said earlier, I have a feeling that you and I are very much alike."
"I guess we’ll see."
Jiang laughed. "Cautious to the last, I like that."
"Where to now?" I asked.
"We are on our way to Cuba to workout the details of this venture. How long will you be here?"
"Couple of days maybe."
"Chang will back here in a day or two. If you’re still on the island, the two of you can get together, and he can apprise you about our meetings in Cuba." Jiang handed me a card. "When you return to New York call me, and we will get together and talk about things that I am sure that we will both find interesting."
We shook hands and Jiang got in the limo. I watched them drive away and Kevon joined me. "How’d it go, boss?"
"I think it went well. But I need you to do something for me."
"Name it."
"Call Wanda. I need to know everything there is to know about my new friends Huang Chang and Wei Jiang."
"Done."
Chapter Eight
Wanda Moore was the lawyer for the operation. Wanda had gotten them outta more cases than she could remember. She was, as Nick once called her, "the mad scientist that made everybody rich." It began early on when Wanda insisted that they start a business to run their money through. Wanda always laughed when she thought about that "mad scientist" comment, to which she answered, "It wasn’t just me, Nick. Sure, I handled the money; made some good investments. But everybody did their part. We changed with the times."
Over the years, Wanda managed the money and made millionaires of her partners. The more important thing was that Wanda was the catalyst behind their recent move to go legitimate. She was able to do that by continuing to push the point that they were making as much, if not more, than they were in their illegitimate activities.
Now, things were moving in the direction that Wanda had always seen for them. Now that Black and Bobby were fully-engaged in their legitimate businesses, it was beginning to pay dividends. During that time period, they had more than doubled their profit margins in the legitimate businesses.
That afternoon, Wanda was in her office going over the latest proposed strategy that Meka Brazil had sent over for taking the company’s stock public, when the phone rang.
"Wanda Moore," she answered.
"Good afternoon. It’s Kevon. How are you doing today, sweetness?"
"I’m good, Kevon. Busy as always. How’s it going down there?"
"That is the reason for my call. Without going into any cumbersome detail, Mr. Black, would like you to do something and get back to him as soon as you have the information."
"He’s supposed to be down there on vacation," Wanda said and picked up her pen.
"Well, this is the monster that you have created," Kevon replied and Wanda knew he was right.
"What does he need?"
"He would like for you to check out two men."
"Give me their names?"
"Huang Chang and Wei Jiang."
"Consider it done. Can you give me anything more on them?"
"Those would be the cumbersome details I spoke of earlier."
"I understand. I’ll get back to you as soon as I have something," Wanda promised.
"Very good. I will be expecting your call," Kevon said and ended the call.
It took her the rest of the afternoon to get the information that Kevon requested. As the information came to her, Wanda was at first apprehensive, and then worried about what it was that Black was doing down there. She called Kevon and gave him what she had found.
"Huang Chang and Wei Jiang are rumored to have strong ties to Chinese organized crime. More Wei Jiang than Huang Chang, who appears to be more of a legitimate businessman. But Jiang is linked to secret societies, Triads, Tongs, and some Taiwanese and Yakuza organized crime groups. And he’s connected with white collar crimes."
"Such as?"
"Money laundering, credit card fraud, software piracy, illegal imports and exports of legal goods, not to leave out alien smuggling, and drug trafficking from the Golden Triangle into Europe and North America."
"Is that so," Kevon said and Wanda continued.
"Huang Chang owns or operates restaurants, retail stores, vegetable stands, car services, ice cream parlors, fish markets, and video stores."
"Small stuff."
"True, but that’s not all he’s into. On a higher, more professional level, he also owns, operates or is in partnership in wholesale supply firms, factories, banks, and employment agencies. There are even some rumored connections to West Coast Chinese gangs that are believed to have penetrated the entertainment industry."
"Very good that you were able to get this information so quickly," Kevon said.
"I have my sources," Wanda said proudly. "The question is what is Mike doing involved with these people?"
"Here again are those cumbersome details I spoke of."
"I see. Well, you tell Mike that I’m looking forward to hearing all about those cumbersome details when he gets back."
"I am quite sure that you will be the first person he speaks with upon his return. He also wishes to know if you have had a chance to take care of his business with Mr. Lightbourn?"
"That is all taken care of. April will do a wire transfer of the money to Mr. Lightbourn’s account as soon as he gets the paperwork to me."
"Very good, ma’am. Once again you have earned your pay for the day. Go ahead and take the rest of the day off," Kevon said playfully.
"I still have a few things to do, but after that, I’m outta here," Wanda said and ended the call.
Chapter Nine
After a night of making love all over their suite, Black and CeCe passed out on the bed. Their sleep was interrupted by the annoying intrusion of the telephone ringing.
"Black," CeCe said, still half asleep.
"What?"
"The phone."
"You get it. You’re closer."
CeCe picked up the phone and shoved it at Black. "It ain’t for me."
"Hello."
"Let me talk to CeCe," Jamaica said.
"Right." Black handed the phone back to CeCe. "It’s for you."
"Who is it?"
"It’s Jamaica."
"For me?"
"Yes. He wants to talk to you," he said and rolled ov
er.
CeCe sat up in the bed. "Hello."
"Good morning, sunshine," Jamaica started. "Do you have any plans for the day?"
"Nothing special. Why?"
"I have taken it ’pon me self to arrange an introduction with the ladies I speak with you ’bout."
"The designers, right?"
"Exactly."
CeCe glanced at the clock by the bed. "What time are we talking about?"
"Anytime you say. They are at your disposal."
"Let’s say two then."
"I will come ’round ’bout two and carry you to they shop. Tell Mike that I have something for him to see while you chat with the ladies," Jamaica said.
As promised, Jamaica picked them up at two and took Black, CeCe and Kevon to Port Lucaya to the shop. After introducing CeCe to the ladies, Jamaica tapped Black on the shoulder. "Come. I want you to see something. I will leave Alan with her to be sure no harm befall her, and take her back to the hotel when they are done," he said as Black and Kevon followed him outta the dress shop.
"So, what you got to show me, Jay?"
"Come, you see."
"This better not be some Jacara shit," Black cautioned as they walked.
"No, no, not’ing at all like that. But her know you are on the rock and you are here with another woman."
"How does she know that?"
"Jacara have many friends ’round."
"How’d you find out she knows?" Black asked, thinking that this was exactly why he needed to keep CeCe off the island.
"She call me late night some time after you leave the restaurant at the hotel."
"What you tell her?"
"I tell her I don’t know what she talkin’ ’bout."
Black laughed. "What she say to that?"
"Her call me a liar and hung up the phone," Jamaica said as they arrived at the dock to one of the boat tour spots he had taken over. Along with a few of Jamaica’s men, there was an older man with a cane seated there, talking shit with the rest of them. Black recognized him as soon as he saw him. His name was Harold Elgin. Black had known Mr. Elgin for years. During the days when he was a number runner back in New York before circumstances forced him to return home to Freeport. He had recently had a stroke and the last time Black was on the island, there was talk that he wasn’t doing that good.
