Sunshine or Lead

by Adam Van Susteren

  “Fuck, then I’ll end up with a big refund in two years, but that’ll be too late to use now. Every ounce of profit I made on this trade, taking the huge risk, I’ll have to pay in taxes and then use to prepay next year before I get a refund,” Aaron said thinking that he wanted to help Xiaowan and James but didn’t want to run afoul of the IRS.

  Pat empathized. “Yeah, the system sucks for those who have a one-off year with large gains. If you talk with a tax specialist, you can probably prepay less without a penalty but, honestly, I don’t know the details. And you have the gold contract coming in, but you said you actually want it delivered so we need cash to close it out. You know, in fifteen years, I’ve never actually seen a futures contract exercised. Everyone buys an opposite amount to book the profit or loss before the strike date. Anyway, somehow we’ll get physical gold delivered to you and you’ll have to pay taxes on that when you sell it.”

  “Screw it, dump the gold tomorrow to raise cash. How much cash can I spend right away?”

  “All of it. But you’ll need to pay almost all of it in taxes with the prepayment next year. Then the following June or July, you’ll get a refund unless you make a lot of money this year.”

  “That’s what I thought. I should get some cash from selling my place here in San Diego, but Tina and I wanted to use it for a down payment on a bigger home when we’re ready to buy. At least there are no taxes on that when it sells.”

  “How much did you get from the television appearances?”

  “About a hundred thousand.”

  “You’ll have to pay taxes on all ordinary income, half this year and then prepay that same amount next year.”

  “If you ever told me that I was going to make nearly three quarters of a million dollars in one year I would have thought there were no problems, but really I’ll end up netting four hundred thousand and have to save almost all of that to prepay taxes.”

  “Nice problem to have.”

  “I have a lot of nice problems. One is finding a jet for Kor’s bachelor party.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Macau.”

  “Last time you went out of town to party with Kor, you broke a man’s neck, your girlfriend shot someone, and you made a stock call that netted you over half a million bucks. You guys fucking know how to party,” Pat said wistfully, imagining being a part of the experience.

  “We’re still not over the trauma, we’re managing. But believe me, it wasn’t worth it.”

  Pat thought for a second. “Why Macau? Are you going to try to take down the yuan now? Get them to stop pegging it to the dollar?”

  Aaron shook his head. “Not everything is about money, buddy. Just a fun weekend. Do you mind if I use your computer? I need to send out some emails.”

  Pat looked at him for a second and wondered if this was just a fun trip or if this was for another client, and what kind of trouble his friend could be into this time. Pat turned on the center monitor. “Sure, buddy. If you need help, feel free to ask and count me in.”

  “Okay, let me know if you know anyone with a private jet for rent. One that has enough gas to go eight or nine thousand miles or so.”

  “I’ll go send some text messages and see what I can find out.”

  “Thanks, buddy. And Pat?” Aaron asked as he took Pat’s seat in front of the computer and Pat was leaving the room.

  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t tell anyone about what we just talked about, please.”

  Pat nodded as he left the room and closed Aaron into his office. He understood discretion was important. Aaron created a new email account on Gmail and composed the following message to the actor/comedian that he sat next to on an airplane, who set up a meeting between him and the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Stan Goldwidth.

  Scotty,

  I was hoping that you can help me out with something. This is Aaron Baker with a fresh and disposable email account. Please send me a phone number that I can call in three hours. I will have access to a secure line. I might need a favor or two.

  Aaron Baker

  Aaron sent the exact same message to his former boss and mentor, Manny Gaglione, and the Executive Director of the Adam Smith Society, Red Budzel. All three of these men were members in the inner circles of the Society and Aaron Baker was hoping they would be ready to provide the support he was afraid he would need.

  Aaron left the email screen open and started a second tab to browse the internet. He googled private jet rentals and found that most websites asked you to fill out forms or call them. It was very hard to get an instant quote. He looked at the range of the Gulfstream jets, between four and six thousand miles until you hit the highest end G5 and G6 that have a top range of seven thousand miles.

  He googled the distance between San Diego and Macau and found it is over seven thousand miles. No chance for a direct flight.

  He pulled up a map of Macau and then zoomed out and looked at the giant Pacific Ocean separating the United States from China. Aaron recognized the little speck near the middle. Hawaii. Hawaii was six thousand miles from Macau but a private jet could make that leg. If Aaron could get Xiaowan’s parents on board in Macau, he could get them to Hawaii and then find a way for them to stay in the United States.

  Aaron turned off the monitor and went downstairs to say goodbye to Pat, Kristen, and Tina. He told Tina he would call her in a few hours after his meeting with Aurora. With that and a kiss goodbye, Aaron left for the Federal Building where just two days ago he had met with Enloe Burden.

  Chapter 15

  Aaron found metered parking, free on Sundays, three blocks from the Federal Building and was early for his scheduled meeting time. As he was walking towards the building, he called Aurora to tell her he was almost there. She went down and met him at the entrance of the building to let him in.

  Aaron saw Nat sitting in front of a computer wearing tight-fitting athletic shorts, a tight-fitting top, and running shoes. She looked ready to run a marathon. Aurora was less revealing, but she was still in skin-tight black yoga pants, a t-shirt, and running shoes. For a split second, Aaron wasn’t sure if he was there to plan a serious operation or take pictures for a fitness magazine.

  Nat looked up from her computer and nodded at Aaron. Aaron smiled back at her and found himself looking at the side of her head because she was back to staring at her computer screen. Even though Nat’s curves were feminine and soft, her actions and demeanor were hard.

  Aurora gestured for Aaron to sit next to Nat and across from where she was set up. “I know we have a lot to plan, but you should know that at three am this morning the person that attacked Tina was taken into custody.”

  “What? That’s great. What happened?”

  “We had an alert border agent. What was he Nat?”

  “ICE,” Nat responded without looking up.

  “Yeah, an immigration and customs agent noticed the fresh burn mark on his face. He remembered the APB and made the connection when he saw the guy trying to cross the border on foot.”

  “Awesome.”

  She nodded, then pointed behind her. “He’s in that building right over there. I had a talk with him at five am this morning and that’s why Nat and I didn’t get a chance to run yet. Not sure when we’ll squeeze it in, but that ocean breeze is calling for a ten mile jaunt.”

  “Is the burned guy Secret Service?”

  “I sincerely doubt it. If so, he’s the best actor I’ve ever seen. Looks like he was just a petty criminal working with his cousin. According to his story, Nannette framed him for the murder of his cousin and then blackmailed him into working for her.”

  “Have you talked to her?”

  “Not much. She requested an attorney before any questioning. She has had four professional visits so far. As soon as she retains someone, I’ll speak with them and then we’ll get her transported back to D.C. to stand trial.”

  “Will California want to keep her here for murder?”

  Aurora shrugge
d. “They may try her after us, but there are a litany of federal charges against both her and Helen Cluntz.”

  Aurora heard her phone chirp and looked at it. “Hmmph.”

  “What’s up?” Aaron asked.

  “Nannette has a visit from the law firm of Oseff, Wai & Cantwell today.”

  “That name’s familiar. I don’t know many criminal firms, though.”

  “They’re not known as a criminal firm, Aaron. They represent multinational companies. They have another client of note that I’ve been dealing with.”

  “Helen Cluntz?”

  Aurora nodded.

  Aaron looked down at the table and thought. After a few seconds, he looked at Aurora. “So the two of them will be able to communicate through their lawyers and there is nothing we can do to hear what they are saying to each other. No way to hear what they are saying because of the attorney-client privilege.”

  “What can we do?”

  Nat interjected, “I understand you guys have a lot to deal with, but please understand that we only have limited time to plan an exfil op and a covert counter-espionage assignment without having experienced teams in either place.”

  “Hey Nat, a few minutes won’t hurt us. Aaron went through a lot and this is important.”

  “I know, I saw him on TV telling his story. Blah blah, fiat currency is bad. His fame will make it harder for him to go places unnoticed.”

  Aurora looked exasperated with the ultra-focused Nat and was about to chastise her when Aaron said, “You’re right, Nat. Let’s focus on Xiaowan and what we have in front of us. You’ve been focused intently on your computer. What have you found out?”

  “Absolutely nothing on Zhou. He doesn’t exist as far as we know, other than having a tourist visa and visiting dozens of countries over the past three years under the name Zhou Zhang. We are guessing it’s a fake identity with a real Chinese passport. We have compared scanned images of his Chinese passport to real passports and my guy confirmed it is almost certainly not a forgery.”

  “That’s all we could get from the CIA and FBI without raising too many eyebrows with extensive inquiries.”

  Nat’s frustration ebbed a touch. “As to Kimbo, his real name is Kenji Bo and he moved to the United States at the age of thirteen. Essentially raised by a host family in private school. Worked at a big architectural firm for a few years and now owns several holding companies that own small apartment complexes and strip malls. He has been investigated and surveilled many times for human trafficking, prostitution, possession and redistribution of stolen goods, things like that.”

  She looked up at Aaron. “He’s never been indicted or even arrested. He appears to have been under heavy suspicion but always came up clean.”

  “So he’s either very cautious or not a criminal?”

  Nat nodded. “I ran a check for donations to political parties. He has donated to local non-partisan races more often than big partisan races. When he donated to partisan races, he donated to Republican candidates seven to one over Democratic candidates. When I did a search for organizations that he has belonged to, I found property management organizations, the Chamber of Commerce, and for one year, back in 1989, guess what he was a member of?”

  Figuring that he was from China and would have been young, Aaron guessed, “The Communist Party?”

  Nat shook her head. “The Adam Smith Society.”

  Aaron stiffened. “No. Really? Shit, I need to check my email and make a few calls.”

  Aurora asked, “To whom?”

  “I asked a few people for help that I need to call on a secure line. Do you have lines that are secure and not recorded?” Aaron asked feeling apprehensive about being recorded but also wishing that he could have access to what Nannette and her lawyers were going to talk about. He could see how tempting it must be to listen in on privileged information between an attorney and client.

  Aurora pointed to a phone at the end of the conference table. “You can use that one.”

  Aaron checked his new disposable email account and saw a message from Manny Gaglione asking him to call a prepaid cell phone number that he provided.

  Aaron started to rise from his chair when Aurora said, “Hold on a second before you call anyone. Let’s figure out how we want to move forward here.”

  “Okay.”

  “We have been trying to figure out how Zhou received information that Ameriprobe is on the verge of a cure for influenza. We have almost no links to him and think that someone from inside Barcelona’s branch tipped him off about it.”

  Aaron asked the question they were struggling with. “If he got that information from someone else, why would he need Xiaowan to get it now?”

  Nat looked at Aurora and nodded, then back at Aaron. “We have the same question. Do you know how many people work at Ameriprobe?”

  Aaron shook his head.

  “Thirty thousand. Half outside the United States. In our best efforts to cross-reference common Chinese surnames, we have found over two hundred employees. There are probably two to three times that in total.”

  Aurora added, “It’s impossible to follow-up with everyone to see who might have leaked this information and there is no way of knowing if it even came from inside the Barcelona branch.”

  “For just once, I would like to know what the hell is going on.”

  “We’ll figure it out, Aaron. You did it all on your own last time. This time you have me and Nat working with you.”

  Aaron looked at Nat. “Not to be racist, but you are Chinese, right? Do you speak any Chinese?”

  “I am fluent in Mandarin and conversant in Cantonese.”

  “And you’ve been to Macau before. Do you think we can get Xiaowan’s parents out of Macau and back to the United States?”

  “Yes.”

  Aaron rubbed at his chin as he thought. “How do we get her parents to Macau? And when?”

  “It should be very easy to pay a casino to offer a promotion to Xiaowan’s parents. I speak Mandarin and a bit of Cantonese so I could call and say it’s a gift for future in-laws that wouldn’t accept it if they knew it was coming from me.”

  “Sounds reasonable,” Aaron admitted.

  “Yeah, and I’d put Kor’s name down on a high roller suite so all of you guys can stay in the same big suite at that casino. His name isn’t likely to register like James’ or yours might.”

  Aaron rocked a little bit in his chair. “I like it. We’d all be staying at the same casino. James can meet with Xiaowan’s parents and then we just get them to come with us.”

  “I like your plan. Nat, do you think you can get them fake passports? Aaron, are you sure you have the money for a private jet?”

  “Yeah. I looked into it a little. It might make things tough for me next year, but I’ll figure it out.”

  “Sounds like we have our plan. You and Nat will get into Macau on Friday and get the parents here. I’ll go to Barcelona with Xiaowan and try to figure out what they are after. Hopefully we can be there on a Sunday when Ameriprobe is probably empty.”

  Aaron got up to move to another chair that was closer to the phone. “Alright, let me make a quick call.”

  Aaron dialed the number Manny gave him. The call was early, but Manny answered. “How can I help you, Aaron?”

  “Hey, thanks for taking my call and for letting me trouble you. You understand that everything must be completely confidential?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “First, do you know anyone with a private jet that can go at least six thousand miles? From what I’ve found, it needs to be a G5 or larger to get that kind of range, and rides on those things aren’t cheap.”

  “I know several people that have them. I have a fractional interest in a G3. I don’t know the range, but that won’t suffice?”

  “I don’t think so. I’ll need to go from Macau to Hawaii.”

  “For really long flights, it’s not really inconvenient to fly commercial. Well, it is inconvenient but worth the hassle.
I keep my interest in the jet so I can go for a quick dinner at Alinea sometimes - ”

  Aaron knew that if they started talking about food, it could sidetrack Manny for hours so he interrupted. “Manny, this involves something that can impact the future of the United States. Possibly as big as what I just went through a month ago. I’m hoping this trip might help avert a big international mess.”

  “Again? What’s it about this time?”

  “I really don’t have time to go into it and also don’t want to put a lot of details out there. I’m just trying to find a private jet with long range that I can rent for as cheap as possible. I’m hoping less than a quarter million.”

  “This is really important?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you talked to the White House?”

  “Not yet. But I am sitting with two government agents from Washington D.C. right now.”

  “I see,” Manny said as he thought things over. “When do you need to be in Macau?”

  “This weekend. I think the plan is to leave on Friday.”

  “Not a lot of time. Tell you what, I’ll see what I can find and I’ll go with you so I can help with the cost of the flight.”

  Aaron was nearly overwhelmed with gratitude. “Manny, there’s a chance it could be dangerous. I don’t know if you should really go.”

  “I’m almost seventy years old, a little excitement wouldn’t be so bad. Besides, they have wonderful food in Macau.”

  “It will be me, you, Kor, James, Josh, two more people coming back with us than we left with, and maybe another person or two for seating purposes.”

  “Ahh,” Manny recognized out loud. “Hence the need for a private jet, eh?”

  “You’re mistaken. We aren’t conspiring to do anything that is possibly illegal.”

  “Agreed,” Manny responded. “I’m going to look at flight options and will call you back at what number?”