The Rice Thieves

by William Claypool

  The Innkeeper hustled into the room with a wine bucket for the two bottles of white, while the driver placed the two bottles of red wine on the table.

  “Are you hoping to get me drunk?” she asked.

  Jun smiled, and was quiet until the innkeeper left the room. After he left, Jun spoke to her quietly. “I’m not trying to get you drunk. His food is wonderful. However, his wine list is a little lacking for my taste. I selected two wines that are excellent complements to his meals, depending on what you order. This Spanish Chardonnay is not very oaky and will not fight most of the flavors in Chinese cooking. The other is a French Grenache, a little sweet, but Rhone wines go well with any number of Chinese sauces. I think you’ll find a combination you like.”

  “Thank you. You’re the perfect host and, again, a model proletariat for the Peoples Republic.”

  “I try to do my part.”

  A waiter was sent in and he uncorked and poured the wine and took their lunch orders.

  When he left, Jun spoke. “You know we still have about a third of our workforce in China working in agriculture. In the 1900s, about 40 percent of American workers were involved with agriculture and now it’s less than two percent. It was all due to mechanized farming. With the number of our young people going to the cities and the number of factories being built, we need to be more efficient with our agriculture. Even the Japanese have a better approach to implementing farm machines to help with the work. That is why the Thailand rice is such a benefit. Our farmers will be able to be more productive with our current methods, and we can gradually change over to more modern farming practices.”

  “Can the Japanese help you?”

  Jun laughed. “That’s worse than having the Americans help us.” He added, “How do you like the wine?”

  “I like the Rhone. I don’t usually like sweeter wines, but this is very pleasant.”

  “I thought you would enjoy it. Now let me tell you about the meeting I had yesterday that I was teasing you with—although you probably already forgot you were being teased.”

  “No, I hadn’t forgotten. I was simply being polite, waiting for you to bring it up.”

  “Of course you were,” Jun said. “Well, I said that my agriculture business was improving. I don’t think it can be any better than it is now. Chao and I met the Minister of Agriculture yesterday. We were called to meet him in Kowloon and he was most enthusiastic about the seeds we imported.”

  “That’s very exciting. Congratulations.”

  “Yes, and I want to show you a digital souvenir from that meeting, a wonderful gift as it were. Zhang Wei, our contact at the Ministry, sent these images to me on my cell phone.”

  Jun reached across the table and showed her each image of the rice fields. “Those are lovely, aren’t they?”

  “Lovely. What exactly am I looking at?” she asked.

  “You are seeing our rice growing on government farms in three provinces along the Yangtze. These are our most productive farms, and they will now be supercharged with the Thailand rice. The Minister was most excited.”

  “Can you send me those images?” she asked. “I’d like to print them and add them to your investment file.”

  “Yes, I would be happy to share them with you.”

  “You must be proud of your success,” she said. “Congratulations again. Here’s a toast to you,” she said, lifting her glass to him.

  “Yes, a toast to me,” he laughed.

  “Now that your agriculture business is going so well, I suppose you want me to convert all of your investments into bonds and cash. You can just clip coupons and never have a loss.”

  “No. The more the cash flows in, the more comfortable I am taking risks.”

  “You wouldn’t need me at all if you converted all your portfolio to fixed income. It will be easy, and you wouldn’t have a financial worry in the world.”

  “That would be no fun at all.”

  “That depends on what you consider ‘fun.’”

  “Please, Sam, you know me. You know I’m a player.”

  “Yes, Jun. I know that well. You are a player. We’ll have lots of fun.”

  He smiled at her. She smiled back, thinking of something else.

  CHAPTER 23

  Franco sat with Sloan in his hotel room when the knock hit the door. Franco walked to the door and let Hal in. Hal carried a large satchel over one shoulder and seemed to be in a good mood.

  “The specimens from both provinces are here,” he said to Paul. “Both of my guys came through with these today.” He slipped the bag off his shoulder. “Sam called. She’ll be a little late. Let’s start.”

  Hal began laying out the contents of the satchel on the bed. The contents were again leaves in plastic bags. One group of bags was numbered one to six in a black pen. Another group was marked A through E in a blue pen.

  “Tell me if you see our rice plants,” he said to Sloan.

  Sloan became excited seeing the leaves. He put on his glasses and started to examine the specimens on the bed. “These are older plants,” he said almost to himself.

  “Is that a problem?” asked Franco.

  “It’s good and bad,” replied Sloan. “It’s good because the veins in the leaves are easier to see and they don’t deteriorate as quickly. It’s bad because they are more variable in their orientation.”

  “Are you going to have enough specimens to identify Buddy’s plants?” asked Hal.

  “We’ll see,” said Sloan, as he removed the first specimen and examined it with a hand magnifier, holding it up to the light.

  Hal and Franco watched Sloan go through each of the bags, carefully examining each of the leaves before replacing them in their bag.

  He separated them into four piles as he finished with them—two piles for each group.

  When Sloan finished, he looked at Hal and Franco and pointed to the larger piles, “These are Buddy’s rice for sure.”

  Sloan pointed at the smaller piles, “These are almost certainly Buddy’s rice, too. There is just a little too much variability of the leaf direction to be completely certain. Anyway, Buddy’s rice is definitely growing in both these places.”

  “Very good, Paul,” said Hal. “Thank you for…”

  Hal was interrupted by another knock on the door. Franco opened it, and Rorke came in.

  “What did I miss?” she asked.

  Hal spoke. “Paul confirms that Buddy’s rice is in both groups.”

  “Are you 100 percent on this, Paul?” she said.

  “Yes, 100 percent,” he confirmed.

  “Okay, good,” she said. “Paul, we’ll see you later. I think we’ve done what we needed to do here today. I’ll give you a call tomorrow to let you know what the schedule is.”

  “That’s fine,” said Sloan. “I’ll be expecting your call.”

  “Goodbye.” She turned and said brusquely, “Franco, come with me.”

  Franco smiled at Sloan as they walked out the door.

  In the hall, Rorke led the way to the elevators and pressed the lobby button. No one spoke on the trip down. In the lobby in front of the elevators, Rorke turned close to Hal and spoke to him in a whisper. Franco did not hear what she said. Hal nodded and turned.

  Rorke added, “I’ll speak with you later when I know a little more. Franco, come with me.”

  Hal gave a small wave as he left them, and Franco followed her to a corner of the lobby.

  She turned to Franco and said, “I was having a pretty good day until about twenty minutes ago,” she said.

  “I assume you want to talk about it.”

  “Yeah, I do, because it involves you.”

  Franco said nothing.

  “I received both a text and an e-mail earlier in the day that I just got around to reading. I was tromping around in the rice fields and enter
taining our thief for most of the day and, to be honest, it was kind of fun. Unfortunately, your drinking pal, Buddy, sent me the text and spoiled the whole day.”

  “How did he do that?”

  “Buddy says he needs to see me in Honolulu as soon as possible. He has urgent news that he must share.”

  “Do you know what’s going on?”

  “Probably. He also says he needs you to come. He says he trusts you. I’m not sure why. You need to come with me to keep Buddy happy. We all have to keep Buddy happy.”

  She moved closer to Franco. “To be honest, I’m more than a little pissed off he’s demanding that you come along. Unfortunately, he was very clear about that. I don’t like it but it will be less painful for me to bring you along than to deal with Buddy if I don’t.”

  “I guess I’m flattered. What’s the big emergency? You said you thought you knew.”

  “Franco, damn it, I try to teach you one little lesson, and you just won’t learn. Now, how do I feel about your constant annoying questions?”

  He said nothing.

  “You’ll know what you need to know when you need to know it. Now what you need to do is to pack a travel bag for two days, max. I think we’ll be leaving within the hour, and I’ll call you when I know.”

  “Okay.”

  “I imagine you have more than one passport with you. Knowing you, I’m sure you didn’t surrender all of them when you retired from Naval Intelligence.”

  “Well, yeah, I do.”

  “What countries?”

  “Canada, Italy, and Spain.”

  “Good, use the Spanish one for this trip. Bring your U.S. passport, too. You may need it when we come back to the States. Stay in your room. I’ll call you when I confirm the plan.”

  ***

  Rorke took a cab to her hotel and packed a bag for the trip ahead. She took another cab to a property a few blocks from the Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal at Sheung Wan. She had been to this building several times before.

  The building was a tired and decaying three story mixed-use structure set in the middle of a block and flanked with similar buildings on both sides. She circled the block once before stopping at the front door, cautiously looking around her. Satisfied that no one was giving her any special attention, she stepped up to the landing and pushed the buzzer at the door. Although no surveillance equipment was visible from the doorstep, Rorke knew the person or persons manning the equipment in the building were watching her.

  The door lock snapped open and she entered. She walked down the small hallway to the metal door on the left. She saw no one else. She had not expected to. The metal door was secured with a mechanical combination door lock that she opened with the correct nine number code. She pushed the door open to the plain room that contained a metal desk, two unpadded metal chairs, and a telephone on the table. She closed the door behind her and punched in the number. A few minutes later, an old man’s voice came over the line.

  “Yes?” Sleep was in his voice, as she expected.

  “Sorry for the early hour, sir, but you wanted to know.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “We have confirmation, solid confirmation, at three sites and soft data for several more.”

  “That’s enough to move on.”

  “I have a problem, though. My rich friend is summoning me for an urgent meeting.”

  The Admiral hesitated.

  “Where?”

  “Hawaii.”

  “You know what he wants to talk about. He just had his golf game two days ago.”

  “Yes, sir, I do. He wants your old friend from New Zealand to come with me.”

  “I suppose that’s okay. You’ll have a chaperone. My old friend from New Zealand may help you save your virginity.”

  “That’s a funny joke from you for this time of day.”

  “Thank you,” said the old man.

  “You know, sir, I should sue your ass for harassment.”

  “You keep threatening that. Of course, you should. Go ahead. I’m sure I deserve it.”

  “Maybe later. Right now, sir, I need transportation to Hawaii.”

  After a short pause, he said, “I have a ride sitting in Taipei. I can arrange for it to take you there, and I’ll have another one ready to take you back.”

  “Where do you want me to meet it? Macau?”

  “Yes, you know the drill. Our contact in Macau is still good. The bird can be there in a little over two hours.”

  “I’ll head there right away. Depending on the ferry times, it may take me closer to three.”

  “That’s fine. They can use any extra time for fueling and food.” He hesitated and asked, “When is cleaning day?”

  “Scheduled for this weekend.”

  “You should make it back easily if you don’t spend too much time with your rich friend.”

  “I don’t plan on doing that.” She changed the subject, “What do you want me to do about the professor? His job is done.”

  “How ready are you for him in Hawaii?”

  “His electronics are fine. I don’t have ‘eyes’ there yet. That will take a day or two.”

  “Do you have ‘eyes’ where you are?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I suggest you keep him over with you until you’re comfortable with your preparations in Hawaii.”

  “That was my plan.”

  “Good, one other thing,” said the old man.

  “Yes?”

  “You better put the fear of God into your randy Texan. We have to start getting control of him.”

  “Yes sir. I will.”

  “Have a good flight, and make sure everyone on your team goes to smoke after this is over. Everyone leaves the country, no exceptions. Keep them away with no contact for at least three or four months, depending on how it goes.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said.

  “Anything else?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Call me when it’s all done.” With that, the Admiral switched off the call.

  CHAPTER 24

  Franco sat in his room. He was packed and ready to leave when she called.

  “Meet me at the Macau Ferry Terminal at Sheung Wan. Get there right away. The ferry leaves in forty minutes.”

  “Understood,” was all he said, and she disconnected the phone.

  He caught a cab right away from the hotel cab stand and felt lucky to get it since rush hour was already in full swing. Although it was a short distance to the terminal, it still took his taxi fifteen minutes to navigate the packed streets. When he approached, he saw Rorke on the sidewalk.

  As he exited the cab, she walked up to him.

  “Do you have the Spanish passport?” she asked quietly.

  “Si.”

  “What’s your name?””

  “Miguel Fernandez,” he said. “Como te llamas?”

  “Bridget Donohue.”

  “Not very original, yet certainly appropriate,” he said, speaking English with a Spanish accent.

  “Do you think you can remember it?” she asked.

  “Si, probably. Are you Irish?”

  “No, Canadian. I don’t fake accents well. Here’s your ticket.” She handed him the ticket. “If you’re asked, you work for a casino in Spain and you’re checking out the gambling on Macau.”

  “That’s easy. I lived near Marbella for a year. I loved that casino there. I can do that one.”

  “Good. For purposes of this trip, I’m your girlfriend.”

  “Hmm, that won’t be as easy. I may not be able to pull that off.”

  She leaned up to his ear and kissed it. “Miguel, if you want to keep your nuts where they are, you’d better figure out how to play that role fast. Let’s go.”

  She took his arm, and they walked to the fer
ry. It was the jet ferry and the travel time for the forty-mile ride to Macau was just about an hour. The crossing was smooth and there were no delays. They cleared border control without a problem, particularly as Rorke, or Bridget Donohue, had a Hong Kong permanent identity card, and charmed the border control man in Cantonese.

  Once inside the arrivals terminal, Franco asked, “Where to?”

  Rorke shook her head and spoke under her breath, “Dipshit. Just one thing I ask you to remember…”

  Franco said nothing, and followed her to the cabstand.

  She spoke to the driver in Chinese, and Franco understood the words “Venetian Hotel.”

  In the dying daylight, they drove across Macau and down the Cotai Strip. As all the casino lights came to life, the “Las Vegas of Asia” label was appropriate in every way. One had to work hard to see any of the old Portuguese influence left on the strip.

  The Vegas feel continued into the hotel lobby, which seemed strangely familiar and western. They checked into the room with their new identities and she continued to hold his arm like a newlywed.

  When the door closed to their room, her sweetness evaporated immediately and she was all business.

  “Franco, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m leaving in about two minutes to go to the general aviation terminal at the Macau airport. It’s called the Macau Business Aviation Center Terminal. You’ll follow me there in ten minutes. Don’t go through the lobby—go out one of the side doors near the little shopping mall they have here. You’ll be able to catch a cab on the street. It’s about a five-minute ride from here. When you arrive, if you don’t see me, ask for Mr. Yang at the main desk. Tell them you are Senor Fernandez. Tell them you are flying to Las Vegas tonight and you want to know if your plane is here. Now, if you have any questions about what I just told you, you may feel free to ask a question.”

  “Yeah, why Las Vegas if we’re going to Hawaii?”

  “Because casino executives go back and forth from Macau to Vegas every day. No one will think twice about the itinerary.”