“I’ve already found out, Master. She was attempting to escape from Leo Songtain. It seems he kidnapped Rose, the co-pilot; took her to his penthouse at the Opus, and demanded Roxanne for Rose’s release. Rose appears to have escaped someplace, but Leo kept Roxanne, until she escaped his security guards and left the building; well, to as far as the harbor, at least. She does not seem to have been followed. And, finally, in answer to the last, I would think a billion golds from Songtain are in order, unless you want to honor our agreement with that Legal.” The Mandingo finished, sat down next to Shih, and poured himself a whiskey.
“How did you come by this information?” Shih asked her lieutenant. “The rebels screwed up, used an open bot-com signal, and got sat-hacked. It seems that the rebels rectified it at the expense of a piece of Nebraska; a lot of ash there now. We just happened to be tuned in at the Homeland Security frequency, and that weasel, Max did tell us she was in town. We spotted her leaving the Songtain Building, but could not grab her until she reached the harbor. There was some mechanical malfunction with the van.”
“More like someone sat-hacked into it to shut us down. What else?” Shih asked, staring at her Vanguard. “We had contact from the rebels ten minutes ago. They want to place an offer on the table, for the prisoner. It looks like we have a bidding war,” the first in command spoke, but the Mandingo looked like he had more to say.
“What else?” Shih continued to examine him with her opaque eye.
“That deal on the race track and custom car stocks fell through. Max didn’t come through as agreed upon. He transferred the voucher money to our accounts in Cabo, but not the stock receipts. He says they’ll be transferred when the Hang Seng opens on Monday, but I don’t trust him. He’s a greedy liar; I don’t trust him.” The Vanguard bowed his head. He always hated giving a poor economic report to his lover and Master.
“You’re always right in your assessment of character, my friend. I agree. The Incs will never let non-managerials own stocks, will they? We’ll always be hand to mouth. Well, if Max wormed out, then we have no further agreement with him. We are free to negotiate with anyone in the bidding war. Tell the rebels we are officially in negotiation. And tell Max we keep his money. Tell him it’s payment for not killing him.”
“What about Leo Songtain? He’s stinking rich,” the Mandingo said.
“I have to com Leo Songtain. I’ll demand a billion in vouchers, and Max’s new Ferrari, thrown in just to put Max in his place. Let’s see what the rebels’ counteroffer is.” Shih knew that Max, Leo Songtain’s legal counsel had just inherited a Ferrari, and that currently many upper management and CEOs had collector cars. If the Triad could buy up some of those cars, they could at least run the races, betting and takes.
“If the Incs won’t let us own part of the action, we’ll take from the tables. Contact both sides and begin the negotiations.” Shih was angry. She had been trying for years to get stocks, but the Incs had a stranglehold on ownership. It was their way of ensuring the social order; of keeping the lowers, like Ching Shih, in line. And she would never forget it.
“Yes, Master. It is done,” the Triad operations officer replied, and left the room to contact, first Leo Songtain, then the rebels. He’d been given a contact code traced to someplace in Alberta, but he knew it was nowhere near the actual and very secret rebel headquarters. Several years back Shih had been obsessed with finding that headquarters, but after each and every one of her assets had disappeared during the searches, she had given up. Obviously, they had abilities far beyond hers.
Shih lifted her hand to her five-ear-ringed left ear lobe and tugged at the jade elephant earring, her favorite. She always did that when things bothered her. She was concerned about the future of her Triad. The WME continuously oozed into their territory, like an alien blob, first taking over the prostitution and slave trades, then drugs, and now some of the racketeering, an area sacred to the Triad. She would have to do something, and fast. Ching Shih got up from her bingo game, and walked down the hall to the lift. She rode it up to the third floor to the holding cell.
“Have you checked to be sure you were not followed here?” she asked one of the individuals who’d grabbed Roxanne at the harbor. She’d just entered the guard station, next to the prison door, and everyone stood at attention when she entered.
“Yes Master, we’re clean, no tail, and I would guess Leo Songtain is good for a billion, if we drag it out and threaten to kill her. Should we kill or negotiate?”
“Negotiate, always think of economics first.” Shih examined Roxanne through the one-way glass. “Take care of this one; she’s worth much to our Triad,” she said to the guard.
“Alright, let me speak with her now. You wait here.” Shih got up carrying a bottle of rig-ryder nutria-blend in one hand. Luckily, it was the nontoxic version. She approached the cell door, signaled for the guard to unlock it, and walked inside with the confidence of someone who could kick a moose unconscious with one bare foot. Roxanne was still woozy, and remained sitting on the edge of the cot. She decided, wisely, that battle mode with Ching Shih would not be advantageous.
“Well Roxanne Smoot, we finally meet in person. I am sorry about the knock-out drug, but I surmised you’d be a problem otherwise. What are we going to do with you?” Shih sat down right next to Roxanne, and handed her the bottle of harmless vitamin juice.
“Leo will pay you whatever you want. But, quite frankly, I’d rather stay here than go back to him. And, you can take the nutria-blend back; it’s toxic, care of Max Peabody,” Roxanne let slip, before she realized what she’d said. The drugs had not worn off enough for her rebel skills to be optimal. That revelation caused Shih to pause. This was new information to her, and she usually had a hand in anything toxic in Hong Kong.
“And how would you know that?” Shih asked, but she put the bottle carefully to the side. She’d have one of her drug labs test this bottle. If Roxanne was right, and the nutrient drink was poisoned, she’d have to investigate Max’s little side venture more closely; strangle him for protection funds or blackmail him. As she thought this out, Roxanne examined the Dragon Master’s face more closely. She was fascinated with Shih; had always wanted to meet the famous Triad leader. Here was someone with panache; not pleasant to look at, but a real work of art, in a Picasso sort of way. Shih noticed the attention.
“I spent three years in a flash-freeze prison cell, back ten years ago. It’s also how I lost these fingers and ended up with this face. I hear they’ve improved the thaw now. I don’t believe it, of course. I’ve seen the thaws first hand. Lucky we got #5 to store all those little official WME research mistakes, right? That way the WME can just neatly hide the evidence away, tucked under the ocean. I keep the face as a reminder, of what things would be like without the counterbalance of the Triad…and your rebels, Roxanne Smoot. Yes, I know you have contacts with the rebels. So let’s get down to business. What kind of counteroffer can your rebels make me if you don’t fancy the company of Leo Songtain?”
Shih doubted Roxanne had any resources of her own, other than her rig-ryder license, or the deed to Eldridge’s bar, neither of which interested the commander of the Hong Kong Triad. The Triad Master really wanted to know what the rebels could give her…some new toy or access to those famous sat-hack system codes, so Shih could skim some accounts for her own people. She asked Roxanne what the rebels would give for her release.
“What do you need the money for? I thought your corporation already held control of all racketeering on Hong Kong and as far inland as Chengdu. I mean how much do you need? And besides, the rebels would never give you their sat-hack code access. The sat-hack controller is very special, a unique individual. It takes practice to sat-hack without getting tracked back to the source.” Roxanne looked carefully into the face of the weary Dragon Master of the most powerful Triad in the region, and she saw sadness, worry, but not an ounce of resignation.
“You don’t understand, do you pretty lady? You have a safety net;
with your union and rig-ryder license, and with the rebels watching over you and your family. You’re protected from them, from the Incs. You can just call up your all-knowing, magical rebel leader from wherever he is to hack you whatever you need. Do you think anyone bought this place for me, for my people?” Shih stood up and paced to the door, stopped, turned around, and pointed a scarred finger at Roxanne. “You have no idea. You’ve never been without a net; without protection from the Incs.”
“I’m sorry; you’re right of course. But if you tried a sat-hack into bank accounts, they would track you, and sweep in for the kill. Have you forgotten what they did that time, when they flooded one of the bubble-stops just because they wanted stocks? I was there in the tunnel, watching through a viewing portal; I watched them drown, Shih. You can’t fight the Incs. They have too much power. All you can do is get by, stay out of their way, and grab what you can. If they shut your turf down and bring in the drones, you’re over. You must know that.”
“I won’t give in to the Incs. If your rebels won’t cut me a better deal, you’ll be sent back to Leo. I can get billions in ransom vouchers, buy up those custom cars and the race track betting tables, and when we have major control of track racketeering, we bleed what we need to survive. If you have a better counteroffer, speak up now.”
Roxanne was quiet, weighing the pros and cons. “I’ll need my bot-com back for that,” she replied. She was not sanctioned to negotiate for Dorian; she had to contact him directly for any counteroffer. After several seconds Shih handed the bot-com to Roxanne, and left the room. She told the guards to watch the prisoner closely, and she’d get back right after Roxanne finished her com to the rebels. If Leo won the bidding war, she’d order her guards to return Roxanne to Songtain in the morning, once the ransom was delivered. Then Shih contacted Max, told him she was keeping his money for the Triad, and if he ever went cheap on them again, he’d be dead. Shih offed the com and started to return to her bingo game when one of the guards informed her, “Smoot has something else to say, Master.” Shih turned, and went back into the holding cell.
Just outside the huge stone wall of the Triad fortress, Michael hid behind a broken mound of left over Li Keqiang statues. There were remnants of this sort all over Hong Kong, destroyed when the WME culling patrols marched in with their laser drones, and took over the world’s economies. Michael was dressed in black, ninja style, and he was not alone. Segev usually worked alone, but this time Rose had insisted on watching his back. And, as far as Michael was concerned, she and Darcy would be charming compliments to the ever-roaming team of Triad German shepherds, mastiffs, and pit bulls watching the compound.
While Michael, Darcy, and Rose scouted the perimeter, Roxanne was explaining her offer, or rather the rebel offer, to Ching Shih, who sat staring at a mound of perfect diamonds. It was not more than she’d ever seen, just more than she’d ever been offered for something so simple. On her part, Roxanne decided that chancing another escape from Leo was not worth the diamonds. He’d probably double the guards on her to prevent another Triad kidnap, and she’d never get out of the Opus.
Shih smiled, something better left undone. “So, let me get this straight. You have stolen Leo Songtain’s crap load of diamonds. And now, you tell me that the toxic nutria-blend was part of an even bigger project, by Max and the now dead Nutria-blend Inc. CEO, to accelerate the WME plan for replacing human workers with robots. Did I get that right?” Ching Shih was incredulous. Even the regulation WME Incs would not just kill people off, oh well, send them to mines or sweat shops, but not kill them off outright.
“Yes, I think it initially started, the poisoned nutria-blend, as Max’s idea to kill me off. But his type doesn’t know when to quit. The rebels can give you access codes to his safe; you’ll probably find those custom car and track stocks that you want in his safe, but you’ll also most likely find a major holding in robots. That’s what the rebels suspect. And you know when that happens, when robots take over, you won’t be able to skim gambling takes, not from a robot. But if Max owned the robot Incs, he could skim whatever he wanted. You would be left out,” Roxanne explained.
Dorian gave the counteroffer to Roxanne when she commed him. It was simple. Give Shih the safe codes to access Max’s vaults, and let them steal the stocks and whatever else they wanted, plain and simple. But when Dorian found out about the stolen diamonds he told Roxanne to throw them into the offer. It was the easiest way to deal with the Triad Don; Dorian did not deal in real assets, just sat-hacks coding for paper transfers. The Triad boss would know how to best financially benefit from a crap-load of diamonds. And, Dorian and his rebels would win a future ally.
Roxanne called Shih back, after getting the offer from Dorian. Of course, Shih did not know who Dorian was, had never heard of the rebel master-mind. Otherwise she might have asked for more. On her part, Roxanne was not unhappy with Dorian’s offer either, because the thought of going back to Leo did not seem worth a boot full of diamonds, or some stupid formula for facial transplants. Plus she knew the Triad code; booty offered for a deal was on the table. And, you did not take from the table until the deal was made. So Ching Shih would not take the diamonds from Roxanne unless she agreed to let her go. It would be an easy way for Roxanne to track the progress of the negotiations, and to ask Dorian to modify her exit strategy accordingly.
“Does Songtain know about any of this? Is he in on it?” Shih asked, while glancing at the pile of diamonds and mentally doing a tally. She figured their value would be close enough to Leo’s ransom offer. And now she would be given access codes to Max’s safe vault, to get the stocks she’d originally been promised. Plus this new bit of information on Max’s poisoned nutria-blend and possible robotics monopoly, if true, would be ideal as a blackmail weapon, worth much more than diamonds. Shih knew the rebels had made the highest bid.
“No, I don’t think so. Leo has this obsession with me, so I don’t think he’d try to slip toxic nutria-blend to the rig-ryders. It might kill me. Besides, Leo may be a merger-minded CEO weasel, but he’s not a murderer. Maybe you should tell Leo about the hobbies his chief legal has taken up. See if Leo has a few unique offers to add to the rebels’ offer for my release. I know he’ll be really pissed when he discovers Max’s little hobby,” Roxanne replied.
“Well I’ll think on it, but I have to consult my lieutenants,” Shih said as she lit up a cigar, and offered one to Roxanne. She already knew they would agree, given the alternative of having to listen to Leo whine over the amount of a ransom bounty. Leo’s whine gave her a headache. Dealing with the rebels would give her a stash from sale of the diamonds, and she’d get access to whatever Max had in his vault, maybe stock receipts. That’s what she really wanted, ownership; she wanted her Triad to be part of the upper strata.
“If you get me back to Aberdeen harbor and out of Hong Kong jurisdiction, you keep the diamonds and the rebels will get those access codes to you. If you see me safe passage, that’s the deal. Once I’m out of Hong Kong territory, the rebels will send you the vault codes,” Roxanne said. But, she said nothing about the stolen Stem-wads® formula, now in the hands, well, in the brains, of the #5ers. That deal was only for her little sis in #5, so she’d be okay.
“You know, I am beginning to see some possibilities in your deal. But I have to discuss this with my lieutenants. It will have to come out better than Leo’s bounty offer, and my tribe will have to agree. They’ll have their input. I’ll get back to you. In the mean time you keep the diamonds. It’s our code. Oh, and I am going to inform Leo of Max’s little sidelines, as you suggested; see if Leo has some nice party plans for his wayward legal counsel. That was a good idea. You’d make a good Triad negotiator, Roxanne Smoot.” Shih left the large pile of diamonds on the cot next to Roxanne, which she also left, untouched.
Michael could not hear what Roxanne and Shih said. He hung by a wire outside the window, but the glass was sound-proof, and if he broke it the alarm would go off. He free-climbed the stone wall of th
e compound after smearing himself with some proprietary Shin Bet gunk that masked his smell to those slobbering giant mastiffs, pit bulls, and German shepherd guard dogs.
Rose was back at the wall, trying to blend in. Each time she managed to lure one of the guard dogs away with a sexy look, Darcy waited in ambush, using a mouth-activated and silenced stun gun. So far they’d sent about a quarter of the canine entourage to sleepy time.
Once Michael reached the roof, he’d had to unceremoniously and not figuratively, break a couple of necks, and then he used a silent flash bomb to destroy the door leading off the roof to the floor below. He rolled inside, checked the area for prey, and then crept down three flights of stairs to where Roxanne sat on a cot, eating her shark and bourbon soup dinner.
Shortly after, once Ching Shih placed that call to Leo and had her lieutenants vote on which offer to accept, Max sat in his legal counsel office in the Songtain Building, drinking his more job-appropriate legal counselor nutria-blend special, and going over the merger agreement contracts. He was feeling much better, even though he did notice even more grey hairs and heart palpitations when he had sex with Bitbuns. Once he’d finished his work, and just as he was about to contact Bitbuns for another go at it, because he was not sure where she was, he got a chime from Leo.
“Yes sir, how can I help you, Mr. Songtain? Yes, I’ve gone over the merger offer. Everything looks fine, and it should be ready for your signature in the morning. What? Someone stole your Stem-wads® formula? How could they get access to your safe? I’m the only other individual who has that access, and you can be assured that I would never do such a thing. This is terrible news, sir. You want me to what! Mr. Songtain, I assure you, I have never been there and do not intend to go there. Can’t you send my assistant, sir? I mean he’s more expendable. What, oh yes, of course. Yes sir; goodbye sir.”
Now Max truly felt like he’d just had a real Fueblaster enema. Leo Songtain, his chief client just received a message that the residents of bubble-stop #5 had stolen the secret formula for Stem-Wads® Inc right out of his safe, and now wanted a ransom payment for silence, big time. Leo wanted Max to go into bubble-stop #5, personally, to speak with their onsite, walking, living copy of the formula, so that Max could determine if they did, in fact, have the actual formula. Max was to copy it down as dictated, and bring back another hard copy for Leo.
Gene Drifters: The Clone Soldier Chronicles-Book III Page 27
