The general of tiananmen.., p.13
The General of Tiananmen Square, page 13
“No.”
“Then how is it that you know Chen?”
“Through a friend of a friend — you know how that kind of thing works in Chinese society.”
“To a certain extent, but I think what you are trying to do goes beyond any knowledge or experience I have.”
“What can I say? Chen is valued by a great many people who would prefer to remain anonymous.”
“How valued?”
Ava smiled. “That is what we are here to discuss.”
Viroj nodded as if he was really thinking about her last remark, and then said, “I’m hungry. The menu here is limited, but the food is quite good. I’m going to eat. Will you join me?”
“Sure, why not?” she said.
“The menu is on the back of the wine list,” Viroj said, sliding it towards her.
She read it, all the while feeling Viroj’s attention focused on her, until the server arrived with his wine.
“Do you know what you want to eat?” he asked her.
“I’ll have the steamed fish balls with lime and chili sauce.”
Viroj turned to the server. “Angus beef sliders for me.”
When the server had left, Viroj picked up his glass and extended it towards Ava. “Good health.”
“The same to you,” she said.
They both sipped from their glasses, and then almost reflexively sat back in their chairs as if waiting for the other person to start the conversation. It was Viroj who did. “It has been an extremely interesting past thirty-six hours,” he said.
“I’m not sure I’m pleased to hear that,” Ava said as lightly as she could.
Viroj shrugged. “I didn’t go back on my word, although I have to say there was some temptation.”
“Thank you for not succumbing.”
“I like the way you don’t dive right in and ask me what tempted us.”
“I figure you will tell me sooner or later.”
“Are you always this calm?”
“Yes,” she said, taking another sip of wine. “Tell me about the last thirty-six hours.”
“The nia increased their bid for your friend Chen.”
“By how much?”
“I don’t recall telling you what their initial bid was.”
“Based on what I know the Chinese have paid in Vietnam and Macau for high-profile targets, I would guess they started at half a million, moved it up to a million when they didn’t get the response they wanted, and now may be at a million and a half,” she said. “Figuring that the nia would want to pocket at least twenty per cent of that, I’d say they offered you one million two or three.”
Viroj lifted his glass to his lips, peered at her over the rim, and she knew in that instant that her numbers were close.
“Whatever it was, I’m prepared to beat it,” she continued.
“What number are you talking about?” he asked.
She hesitated, and then said, “One million five hundred.”
“That’s hardly enough to justify —” he quickly began.
“Wait one second, I’m not finished,” Ava said abruptly. “I’m willing to pay one million five to seal the deal, and another one million five when Chen is released and on his way out of Thailand.”
Viroj didn’t overreact, but he pursed his lips, and that was enough for Ava to push ahead.
“So, we’ll pay you three million to let Chen — who is innocent, after all — get on a plane to a country where the Chinese can’t get their hands on him,” she said, and then decided to go one step further. “And I’ve thought about your wish to maintain cordial relations with the various other Thai players. To help you with that, I’m prepared to offer an extra seven hundred and fifty thousand that you can allocate any way you see fit, to compensate them for their troubles.”
Viroj looked startled, but before he could speak the server arrived with their food. Viroj waited for him to go before he picked up a slider, looked at it, and then put it down. “You have caught me off guard. That doesn’t happen very often. Are you always so full of surprises?”
“I have made what I think is more than a fair offer, so I don’t know what is so surprising?”
“The fact that you have just put almost four million dollars on the table is a good place to start.”
“What did you expect?” Ava said. “This is a serious matter; a man’s life is at stake.”
“From everything I’ve been told, I think that is a bit of an exaggeration.”
“When for whatever reason someone disappears to a Chinese jail, you can never assume they will come out alive, or if they do come out, that they will be the same person,” she said, and then motioned with her pinkie in the direction of his plate. “Your sliders are getting cold.”
“I’ve lost my appetite, but I could use another glass of wine.”
“Me too,” she said.
Viroj turned, and when he raised a hand in the air, the server rushed to their table. “There is nothing wrong with the food; we’ve just decided that we’re not that hungry. So please take our plates away and bring us each another glass of wine.”
When they were alone, Ava said, “You haven’t told me what you think about my offer other than that it surprised you.”
“It is competitive.”
Ava shook her head. “C’mon, it’s more than twice what anyone else has offered, and if you think that the other side will match it, you’re going to have to wait for a while without any guarantee that they will. Now, Viroj, are you in a position to make a decision about my offer, or are there others you need to speak to?”
“There are others, but they are easy enough to reach if I choose to.”
Ava ignored his last few words. “There are some details we still need to discuss, but after that’s done I would appreciate it if you could contact them, and among you make a decision.”
“You’re trying to rush me again.”
“I want to leave Bangkok tomorrow morning with Chen, so yes, I am in a rush.”
( 19 )
Ava watched Viroj’s eyes flit between her and the wall behind her, and she knew she had rattled him. If he had thought he was in control of their conversation, that idea was now at least shaken.
“I don’t want to pursue that last remark of yours until the server has brought our wine,” he said after a short, uncomfortable silence.
That took several minutes, during which Ava debated how quickly and how hard she should push her position. By the time the server returned, her decision was made.
“Again to your health,” Viroj said, raising his new glass.
“To everyone’s health,” said Ava.
Viroj took several sips of wine and then leaned forward. “When you mentioned leaving Bangkok tomorrow with Chen, was that your way of giving us a deadline? If it was, my people won’t react positively to it.”
“I have made you a serious and substantial offer, but unfortunately there is a time limit attached to it. Given the nature of the situation and the disposition of the people on the other side, we can’t risk getting into a protracted negotiation.”
“What is the time limit?”
“We want an answer by midnight tonight.”
“What — yes or no?”
“Exactly.”
“That is really not going to be well-received.”
“Apologize for us — and look, to sweeten the pot a little, we’ll add another two hundred and fifty thousand. So that will be three million for you, and a million for you to distribute among the others or keep for yourselves. It makes no difference to us what you do with it.”
Viroj lifted his glass to his lips and held it there for several seconds. Ava stared at him, gauging his reaction and wondering if her strategy would backfire. She couldn’t discount the possibility that it might, but were he and his uncle capable of walking away from four million dollars? She thought not, although if she was wrong she’d have to mend some fences — and that would end up costing more than four million.
He put down his glass, and leaned back with his hands clasped across his chest. Ava knew he was trying to look relaxed, but the fingers pressed into his knuckles suggested he was anything but. “Even if we reach an agreement — and I’m not suggesting we will — I still find your idea of leaving Bangkok tomorrow morning to be quite fanciful. How could it be executed that quickly?” he asked, sidestepping the issue of a deadline.
“I can have half of the money in any bank account you name within an hour of reaching a deal, and I can have the other half confirmed and ready to transfer the moment the plane that Chen and I are on takes off,” she said. “And all you have to do is make a phone call to the Immigration Bureau’s office at the airport to tell them to release Chen, give him his passport, and escort him to the departure gate. I will provide you with the airline and flight number.”
Viroj raised an eyebrow. “You make it sound so simple.”
“That’s because it is.”
“Except what is to prevent you from getting on the plane and not sending the second tranche of money?”
“And what is to stop you from promising to release Chen and then simply pocketing the first tranche and doing nothing of the sort?” asked Ava. “There is plenty of room for mistrust on either side.”
“That is an understatement, and I have to tell you that when I speak with my associates I expect they will want all of the money upfront.”
“Let me be clear, there is absolutely no way we are going to send you four million dollars in the hope that you will honour your word. In fact, my associates will be unhappy with me for promising you two upfront, but I am prepared to withstand that criticism if you agree to my proposal,” Ava said.
“So in addition to setting a time limit, you want me to also tell my people that asking for the four million upfront is a deal-breaker?”
Ava hesitated, but she had made the decision before he asked the question. “I’m afraid that is our position, but I like to think there has to be a way to make that not so extreme — a way that satisfies both of our needs.”
“By your tone, I’m guessing you have thought of something.”
“It would have been irresponsible of me not to anticipate there would be resistance to some aspects of our proposal,” she said, pleased that the conversation seemed to have settled on money rather than timing.
“I’m listening.”
“What if we offered a form of guarantee for the second payment?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Well, I was thinking, what if we sent the money to a middleman, someone we both trust, with instructions to release it to you the moment our plane departs. You would have the assurance of knowing that the money is being held for you, and we would have the comfort of knowing you won’t get it unless we are in the air.”
“That might actually work,” said Viroj. “But there’s the problem of finding someone we both trust.”
“I was going to suggest Arthon,” she said.
“Obviously I knew the two of you were acquainted, but I wasn’t sure to what extent.”
“We aren’t close, if that’s what you are asking, but we do share a common bond from our pasts. From my experience with him I think he is honourable, and a man of his word. If he agreed to take this on, I have no doubt he would do it to both of our satisfactions.”
“Are you saying he knows you’re here?”
“He does, and he knows why I’m here.”
“I suspected as much.”
“So, how about it, do you trust him enough?”
Viroj looked thoughtful. “I trust him well enough,” he finally said.
“Then we should talk to him. I have put his name into our conversation without his knowledge, and without any idea if he’ll agree to do it. There is no point in you suggesting it to your people unless we know Arthon is on side.”
“I agree.”
“Then let’s talk to him right now,” Ava said, taking her phone from her bag. “I’ll put him on speaker.”
“Are you serious? You would do that here?”
“Why not? Who is going to hear us over the noise?”
Viroj glanced at the nearby tables, where people were engaged in animated conversations. “Okay, but keep it down.”
Ava smiled, and thought please answer your phone as she dialled Arthon’s number.
“Hello,” he answered.
“This is Jennie Kwong,” she said quickly, afraid he’d call her Ava. “I’m sitting at the Hyatt with Viroj, and I have my phone on speaker mode so we both can hear you . . . Viroj, say hello to Arthon so he knows I’m not pulling his leg.”
“Yes, this is Viroj,” he said.
“Arthon, we’re calling you to discuss a possible solution to the situation that brought me to Bangkok. Without speaking for Viroj, I believe we’ve agreed on many of the details, but there is an outstanding issue that that we would both appreciate you helping us out with.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine what I could do to help.”
“I know you have said you are reluctant to act as a middleman, but this does not involve any real active involvement on your part,” Ava said. “All we need is someone to facilitate a financial transaction. Specifically, my team has agreed to pay for the release of Chen Jie and we’ve offered to do it in two tranches. The first will be when the final deal is struck, and the second will be when Chen and I are on a plane that’s in the air heading out of Bangkok. The second payment is the sticking point. Viroj would prefer it upfront, and I don’t want to pay until I know Chen and I are safe.”
Viroj leaned forward. “She has suggested sending the money to you to hold until she’s gone. Are you okay with doing that?”
“I’m a bit confused. Has an agreement been reached and this is the last sticking point?”
“No, I haven’t presented her proposals to my people yet,” Viroj said. “But I want to make sure we’ve agreed on the details before I do, and you agreeing to facilitate the transaction is the last one.”
Arthon hesitated, and then said, “Truthfully, I am very reluctant to take part in this.”
“You are my only option. If you don’t agree, then I’m not sure where that leaves us,” Ava said. “I hate to put it like that, but that’s where we are.”
Arthon didn’t respond right away, and Ava began to prepare for the worst. Then he said, “Viroj, if I do agree to help, can you keep a lid on the fact that I did?”
“Yes, and I would expect the same in return. It is obviously in both of our interests to keep this as private an arrangement as possible.”
“Then in that case I will help.”
“Thank you,” said Ava.
“How much money are we talking about?”
“Two million U.S. dollars,” Ava said.
“Good grief . . . so you’ll be sending me half of that?”
“No, the offer I’ve made is four million. I’ll be putting two million into whatever bank account you specify.”
“I am trying to act cool, but that is a lot of money,” said Arthon. “When would you plan to do it?”
“Immediately after my offer is accepted,” Ava said, staying determinedly confident.
“And how soon do you think that might be?”
“I am hoping to close the deal tonight and to leave Bangkok with Chen tomorrow morning.”
“Even if you can move that quickly, I think you’ll have to hold off sending me money until mid-morning tomorrow,” said Arthon. “I would want to give my bank manager a heads-up that the money will be going into my account and then will be transferred out of it. None of us want him getting so surprised that he puts a hold on the money or starts asking uncomfortable questions.”
“And you can’t leave until Arthon confirms he has it,” Viroj said to her.
Ava noticed that now Viroj was acting as if they already had an agreement. She nodded. “I wouldn’t dream of doing that, so I’ll start looking at flights leaving later in the day.”
“Okay, is that all?” Arthon asked.
“I need your banking information,” Ava said.
“I’ll text it to you in a few minutes.”
Ava looked at Viroj. “Are you all right with this? I know we’re jumping the gun a bit, but there’s no harm in being prepared.”
“Yes, go ahead and send her your banking information,” he said to Arthon.
“And I will need yours.”
“I’ll send it to you after I get the go-ahead from my associates. I’ll be calling them as soon as we finish.”
“Do you expect any opposition?” Arthon asked.
“I don’t want to predict how they will react,” said Viroj.
“Then I’ll wait to hear from you.”
The connection to Arthon went dead. Ava looked at Viroj. “Where do you want to make your call? If you want to do it from here, I’ll leave.”
“I think you should.”
“I’ll go upstairs and wait in the main lobby. Either call me or come to get me when you’re finished.”
( 20 )
Ava felt the last of her energy drain from her body the moment she stepped out of the bar. She knew jet lag played a part, but the wine and the effort of trying to stay calm and in control while she was speaking to Viroj and then Arthon had also taken a toll. As she made her way upstairs to the main lobby, she wished she had told Viroj she was going to her room and for him to call her when he was ready to talk again. But she wasn’t about to bother him with that now.
She found an unoccupied sofa in the lobby, settled into it, took her phone from her bag and placed it on the table next to the sofa. When a server approached, she ordered sparkling water. Her phone pinged as the server left, and Ava saw she had a text from Arthon. She opened it.
My compliments on making the progress you have. I attach my bank information. Let’s hope you are able to put it to good use. Keep me posted. Regards, Arthon.
