Jjarry Rinehart took the shuttle to LaGuardia, and from there a private car to the Mercer hotel in SoHo. He checked in, showered, and changed into a heavier wool suit because snow was expected. He picked up a fax at the front desk, then walked eight blocks to a tiny Vietnamese restaurant near the Village, one that had yet to appear in the travel guides. Mr. Trudeau preferred it for discreet1 meetings. It was empty and he was early, so Barry settled himself onto a bar stool and ordered a drink.
F. Clyde Hardin's cheap class action may have been small news in Mississippi, but it was a far better story in New York. The daily financial publications ran with it, and the battered2 shares of Krane's common stock took another drubbing.
Mr. Trudeau had spent the day working the phones and yelling at Bobby Ratzlaff. Krane's stock had been trading between $18.00 and $20.00, but the class action knocked it back a few bucks3. It closed at $14.50, a new low, and Carl pretended to be upset.
Ratzlaff, who had borrowed a million bucks from his retirement5 fund, seemed even more depressed6.
The lower the better. Carl wanted the stock to fall as far as possible. He'd already lost a billion on paper and he could lose more, because one day it would all come roaring back. Unknown to anyone, except two bankers in Zurich, Carl was already buying Krane's stock through a wonderfully nebulous company in Panama. He was carefully gathering7 shares in small lots so that his buying would not upset the downward trend.
Five thousand shares on a slow day and twenty thousand on a busy one, but nothing that would draw attention. Fourth-quarter earnings8 were due soon, and Carl had been cooking the books since Christmas. The stock would continue to slide. Carl would continue to buy.
He sent Ratzlaff away after dark, then returned a few calls. At seven, he crawled into the backseat of his Bentley and Toliver drove him to the Vietnamese place.
Carl had not seen Rinehart since their first meeting in Boca Raton, back in November, three days after the verdict. They did not use regular mail, e-mail, faxes, overnight parcels, landlines, or standard cell phones. Each had a secure smart phone that was linked solely9 to the other, and once a week, when Carl had the time, he called for an update.
They were led through a bamboo curtain to a dimly lit side room with one table. A waiter brought drinks. Carl was going through the motions of cursing class actions and the lawyers who bring them. "We're down to nosebleeds and skin rashes," he said.
"Every redneck who ever drove by the plant down there is suddenly a plaintiff. No one remembers the good old days when we paid the highest wages in south Mississippi.
Now the lawyers have created a stampede and it's a race to the courthouse.”
"It could get worse," Barry said. "We know of another group of lawyers who are rounding up clients. If they file, then their class will be added to the first one. I wouldn't sweat it.”
"You wouldn't sweat it? You're not burning cash in legal fees.”
"You're going to get it back, Carl. Relax." It was now Carl and Barry, first names and lots of familiarity.
"Relax. Krane closed today at $14.50. If you owned twenty-five million shares, you might find it hard to relax.”
"I would be relaxed, and I would be buying.”
Carl knocked back his scotch10. "You're getting pretty cocky.”
"I saw our boy today. He made the rounds in Washington. Nice-looking fella, so clean-cut it's frightening. Smart, good speaker, handles himself well. Everybody was impressed.”
"Has he signed on?”
"He will tomorrow. He had lunch with Senator Rudd, and the ole boy knows how to twist arms.”
"Myers Rudd," Carl said, shaking his head. "What a fool.”
"Indeed, but he can always be bought.”
"They can all be bought. I spent over four million last year in Washington. Sprinkled it around like Christmas candy.”
"And I'm sure Rudd got his share. You and I know he's a moron11, but the people in Mississippi don't. He's the king and they worship him down there. If he wants our boy to run, then the race is on.”
Carl squirmed out of his jacket and flung it across a chair. He removed his cuff12 links, rolled up his sleeves, and, with no one to watch, loosened his tie and slouched in his chair. He sipped13 his scotch. "Do you know the story about Senator Rudd and the EPA?" he asked, with full knowledge that fewer than five people knew the details.
"No," Barry said, tugging14 at his own tie.
"Seven, maybe eight years ago, before the lawsuits15 started, the EPA came to Bowmore and started their mischief16. The locals there had been complaining for years, but EPA is not known for swift action. They poked17 around, ran some tests, became somewhat alarmed, then got pretty agitated18. We were watching all this very closely. We had people all over the place. Hell, we have people inside the EPA. Maybe we cut some corners with our waste, I don't know, but the bureaucrats19 really became aggressive.
They were talking about criminal investigations20, calling in the U.S. attorney, bad stuff, but still kept internal. They were on the verge21 of going public with all sorts of demands-a zillion-dollar cleanup, horrendous22 fines, maybe even a shutdown. A man named Gabbard was CEO of Krane at the time; he's gone now, but a decent sort who knew how to persuade.
I sent Gabbard to Washington with a blank check. Several blank checks. He got with our lobbyists and set up a new PAC, another one that supposedly worked to further the interests of chemical and plastics manufacturers. They mapped out a plan, the key to which was getting Senator Rudd on our side. They're scared of him down there, and if he wants the EPA to get lost, then you can forget the EPA. Rudd's been on the Appropriations23 Committee for a hundred years, and if EPA threatens to buck4 him, then he simply threatens to cut their funding. It's complicated, but it's also very simple. Plus, this is Mississippi, Rudd's backyard, and he had more contacts and clout24 than anyone else. So our boys at the new PAC wined and dined Rudd, and he knew exactly what was happening. He's a simpleton, but he's played the game for so long he's written most of the rules.”
Platters of shrimp25 and noodles arrived and were casually26 ignored. Another round of drinks.
"Rudd finally decided27 that he needed a million bucks for his campaign account, and we agreed to route it through all the dummy28 corporations and fronts that you guys use to hide it. Congress has made it legal, but it would otherwise be known as bribery29.
Then Rudd wanted something else. Turns out he's got this slightly retarded30 grandson who has some weird31 fixation on elephants. Kid loves elephants. Got pictures all over his walls. Watches wildlife videos. And so on. And what The Senator would really like is one of those first-class, four-star African safaris32 so he can take his grandson to see a bunch of elephants. No problem. Then he decides that the entire family would enjoy such a trip, so our lobbyists arrange the damned thing. Twenty-eight people, two private jets, fifteen days in the African bush drinking Dom Perignon, eating lobster33 and steak, and, of course, gawking at a thousand elephants. The bill was close to three hundred grand and he never had a clue it was paid for by me.”
"A bargain.”
"An absolute bargain. He buried the EPA and they fled Bowmore. They couldn't touch us. And, as a side benefit, Senator Rudd is now an expert on all issues dealing34 with Africa. AIDS, genocide, famine, human rights abuses-you name it and he's an expert because he spent two weeks in the Kenyan outback watching wild game from the back of a Land Rover.”
They shared a laugh and made the first advance upon the noodles. "Did you ever contact him when the lawsuits started?" Barry asked.
"No. The lawyers took over with a vengeance35. I remember one conversation with Gabbard about Rudd, but it was the combined wisdom back then that politics would not mix with the litigation. We were pretty confident. How wrong we were.”
They ate for a few minutes, but neither seemed thrilled with the food.
"Our boy's name is Ron Fisk," Barry said as he handed over a large manila envelope.
"Here are the basics. Some photos, a background check, no more than eight pages, at your request.”
"Fisk?”
"That's him.”
Brianna's mother was in the area, her twice-yearly drop-in, and for such visits Carl insisted that they use the mansion36 in the Hamptons and leave him alone in the city.
Her mother was two years younger than Carl and fancied herself attractive enough to catch his eye. He spent less than an hour a year in her presence, and each time caught himself practically praying that Brianna had a different set of genes37. He loathed38 the woman. The mother of a trophy39 wife is not automatically a trophy mother-in-law, and she is usually much too enamored with the topic of money. Carl had loathed each of his mothers-in-law. He detested40 the very notion that he had a mother-in-law in the first place.
So they were gone. The Fifth Avenue penthouse was all his. Brianna had loaded up Sadler MacGregor, the Russian nanny, her assistant, her nutritionist, and a maid or two and headed out in a small caravan41 to the island, where she could invade their fine home up there and abuse the staff.
Carl stepped from his private elevator, came face-to-face with Abused Imelda, cursed at the sight of her, ignored his valet, dismissed the rest of the staff, and when he was finally alone in the wonderful privacy of his bedroom, he put on his pajamas42, a bathrobe, and heavy wool socks. He found a cigar, poured a single malt, and stepped out onto the small terrace overlooking Fifth Avenue and Central Park.
The air was raw and windy, perfect.
Rinehart had cautioned him against fretting43 the details of the campaign. "You don't want to know everything," he said more than once. "Trust me. This is my profession, and I'm very good at what I do.”
But Rinehart had never lost a billion dollars. According to one newspaper article, about Carl no less, only six other men had ever lost a billion dollars in one day.
Barry would never know the humiliation44 of falling so fast and so hard in this city.
Friends become harder to find. Carl's jokes were not funny. Certain portions of the social circuit seemed to be closed (though he knew this was ever so temporary). Even his wife seemed a bit colder and less fawning45. Not to mention the cold shoulders from those who really mattered-the bankers, fund managers, investment gurus, the elite46 of Wall Street.
As the wind reddened his cheeks, he looked slowly around at the buildings up and down Fifth Avenue. Billionaires everywhere. Did anyone feel sorry for him, or were they delighted at his fall? He knew the answer because he had taken so much delight when others had stumbled.
Keep laughing, boys, he said with a long pull on the malt. Laugh your asses47 off, because I, Carl Trudeau, now have a new secret weapon. His name is Ron Fisk, a nice, gullible48 young man purchased (offshore) by me for chump change.
Three blocks to the north, at the top of a building Carl could barely see, was the penthouse of Pete Flint, one of his many enemies. Two weeks earlier, Pete had made the cover of Hedge Fund Reports, dressed in an ill-fitting designer suit. He was obviously gaining weight. The story raved49 about Pete and his fund and, in particular, a spectacular final quarter last year, thanks almost solely to his shrewd shorting of Krane Chemical. Pete claimed to have made a half-billion dollars on Krane because of his brilliant prediction that the trial would end badly. Carl's name wasn't mentioned; it wasn't necessary. It was common knowledge that he'd lost a billion, and there was Pete Flint claiming to have raked in half of it. The humiliation was beyond painful.
Mr. Flint knew nothing about Mr. Fisk. By the time he heard his name, it would be too late and Carl would have his money back. Plus a lot more.
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discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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bucks
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| n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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moron
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| n.极蠢之人，低能儿 | |
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cuff
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| n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口 | |
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sipped
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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lawsuits
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| n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 ) | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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bureaucrats
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| n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言 | |
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investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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horrendous
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| adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的 | |
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appropriations
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| n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式） | |
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clout
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| n.用手猛击；权力，影响力 | |
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shrimp
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| n.虾，小虾；矮小的人 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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dummy
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| n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 | |
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bribery
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| n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿 | |
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retarded
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| a.智力迟钝的，智力发育迟缓的 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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safaris
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| n.游猎，陆路旅行（尤指在东非或中非）( safari的名词复数 )；类似游猎的假日旅行 | |
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lobster
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| n.龙虾，龙虾肉 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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genes
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| n.基因( gene的名词复数 ) | |
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loathed
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| v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢 | |
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trophy
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| n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品 | |
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detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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pajamas
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| n.睡衣裤 | |
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fretting
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| n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的 | |
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humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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fawning
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| adj.乞怜的，奉承的v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的现在分词 )；巴结；讨好 | |
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elite
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| n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的 | |
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asses
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| n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人 | |
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gullible
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| adj.易受骗的；轻信的 | |
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raved
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| v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说 | |
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