The Company

[dr_kromm]

On August 20, we had Bonnie ("Xiang Wen," a.k.a. "Wu Xie Zhi" and "Dot"), Marc ("Anabel Windsor," a.k.a. "Abigail Wilson" and "Vicky"), and Torsten ("Qoqa Ramazanova," a.k.a. "Zoya Petrovna Sidorova"). For those keeping score at home, we skipped August 6 and 13 owing to absences in our crew.

Time: Saturday, July 27, 2013.
Place: Tokyo, Japan.
Last Event: Hiding out, making phone calls, and preparing to go to Seoul.

The flight to Seoul which Sakata booked has the team departing on the morning of Monday, July 29, leaving them two more days in Tokyo. The Agents opt stay at their hotel and keep a low profile while they wait. They also decide to poke around the Internet to see what they can learn about their contact in South Korea, because all they have to go on is a name (Park Hyun-Woo) and a business address. After getting hold of a few cheap tablet computers, the search begins.

Wen searches news sites for any trace of Park in the headlines, but finds nothing but brief mentions of his rather generically named company: Park Ventures. Anabel and Jili dig deeper and discover that Park Ventures acts as a middleman for larger companies hoping to reduce their risk when developing new products and markets. The firm appear to be highly diversified, helping clients outsource R&D, acquire key personnel, form partnerships, and much more in sectors as diverse as agribusiness, biotech, electronics, and transportation. A quick Street View of the business address reveals a huge glass tower, of which the 53rd floor belongs to Park Ventures. At least on the surface, the outfit looks to be legitimate and successful.

All of that takes only an afternoon, leaving most of the weekend free. Anabel uses that time to learn some basic phrases in Korean and teach them to anyone who will listen. Qoqa is willing to learn, but focuses mostly on "cleaning" and disposing of anything incriminating, like the handguns taken off the Yakuza thugs. The other Agents simply relax.

On Monday morning, it's time to fly to Seoul. The Agents have no difficulties checking in at Narita – their latest identities appear to be standing up well so far – and are in the air shortly thereafter. The flight is a short one. The group strolls into Incheon International in time for lunch.

After grabbing a quick meal and some disposable phones, the Agents make their way to the hotel that Sakata booked. This proves to be spotless and rather expensive – but unfortunately, the rooms don't have much of a view. Klas observes that the lack of long sightlines works both ways, denying enemy snipers, drone pilots, and so on a vantage point. Suddenly, a close look at blank walls doesn't seem so bad.

The team gathers in Anabel's room while she calls Park Ventures. It soon becomes apparent that it's next to impossible to get a meeting with Mr. Park without a referral or an introduction. Anabel has the receptionist put her on the waiting list anyway, under her current pseudonym, "Isabel Wilson." After that, she calls Chaturvedi and asks him to rattle whatever cages are necessary to have the Company expedite matters. He promises to pass the request up the ladder, but warns that this process, too, may take a while.

With that done, the Agents find themselves cooling their heels at yet another classy-but-sterile hotel. They use the time to procure clothing suitable for business meetings, but otherwise keep a low profile. It's Thursday, August 1, when Anabel's phone rings. The call is short and exceedingly weird: the connection lasts just long enough for a digitally generated voice to say, "Wilson, Isabel, be at Park's office in 90 minutes."

Not everyone is entirely comfortable with this, but then again, the higher echelons of the Company value anonymity like life itself. The eventual plan for Anabel to handle the meeting, with Qoqa posing as her EA, while the others walk around the building lobby and surrounding neighborhood, posing as visiting businesspeople and tourists. Anabel makes sure that everyone is dressed for the part, and then the group sets out by taxi.

The tower in which Park Ventures has its headquarters turns out to be quite posh. When Anabel and Qoqa arrive on the 53rd floor, it's obvious that the company is no seedy cutout or fly by-night venture. Everything is expensive and clean. The woman who meets them is clearly an experienced and professional receptionist, and escorts the two through a spacious office to Mr. Park's suite. There, they're met by Park's EA, Ms. Kim, who invites them to rest and have tea while they wait.

Ultimately, Anabel and Qoqa get their meeting with Park. He's obviously a man of means, his perfect suit, haircut, watch, shoes, and so on almost hiding the fact that he's a dumpy, middle-aged executive. His manner is smooth, even oily, but Anabel senses that this is genuine Park: He isn't lying or playing games; he simply functions in "Let's make a deal!" mode 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. She's seen the same behavior in other high-powered businessmen.

It's immediately evident that whatever strings the Company pulled were at a very high level indeed. Park is already aware of the fact that Anabel has come to ask him to get hold of an electronics manufacturer to produce a high-tech smart phone, and appears to have had previous dealings with the Agents' secret sponsor, whom he calls "my British friends." Anabel warns that the technology in question is cutting-edge and a prime target for industrial espionage, so she wants security. She also explains that time is of the essence.

Park simply agrees, nods, and comes out with figures: "I'll need $25 million up front, plus verification that your backers are good for another $100 million, though I don't imagine that anyone will ask to see the money." He promises that if Anabel can make the financial arrangements within two weeks, he can guarantee a contract in that time, followed by product rolling off a retooled production line in three months. Anabel gambles that Sakata can cover the bill with his vaunted market-skimming technology, and makes a verbal agreement. She also tries to finagle hands-on access to computer and site security, but Park draws the line there – his reputation took time to build, and he isn't about to give clearance to strangers.

The meeting winds down inside of an hour. Park suggests that he and Anabel sign the deal in person after the financials have been arranged and the lawyers have drafted the paperwork. Anabel is acutely aware that Park is attracted to her, and that his motivation to see her again is more personal than professional, but she diplomatically agrees. Qoqa watches the entire process with interest. Her inner interrogator finds nothing amiss – Park is cocky, but no more than any other capitalist would be when offered a multimillion-dollar contract out of the blue, and though he clearly stands to gain from the arrangement, he doesn't appear to be playing Anabel any more than she's playing him (and maybe less . . .).

On the way out, Anabel stops by Ms. Kim's desk to leave contact info and request the file number for the deal. Kim takes care of the matter quickly and professionally. As Anabel and Qoqa are turning to leave, Park ducks out of his office, winks at Anabel, and shouts, "Say hello to Mr. Bond for me!" Laughing, he returns to his lair while the Agents walk to the elevators with puzzled looks on their faces.

At ground level, Qoqa and Anabel signal to their associates that all is well, and the team returns to the hotel in ones and twos. When the whole group is back, Anabel and Qoqa brief everyone on their meeting with Park. Then Anabel calls Sakata, who seems altogether casual about handing off $25 million and putting another $100 million on display, and promises to arrange codes for the funds transfer. Of course, it's painfully obvious that Sakata, like Park, stands to gain from all this. When asked when he could have the engineering specs for the "phone" ready, he replies that he worked that out some time ago and that the Agents can expect high-density media bearing the information to arrive by courier on Monday.

The next call is to Chaturvedi, mostly to let the Company know that its operatives are making a multimillion-dollar electronics deal to screw over CIA or perhaps NSA. He seems satisfied that manufacturing and selling a next-generation surveillance device as a cellular phone will democratize a dangerous technology, making the world a better place. He assures Anabel that he'll pass along the information immediately and have the Company use its pull to arrange the necessary lawyers and paperwork as soon as possible.

On Friday morning, Anabel calls Park's office to confirm the status of the deal. It appears that the Company is quite efficient and has already started the necessary processes. Once that conversation is over, Ms. Kim informs Anabel that Mr. Park asked to speak with her if she called. Anabel agrees and soon finds herself chatting with Park, who explains that there will be little progress on the initial arrangements before Monday, but that he would be delighted if she would accompany him to a soiree on Saturday night. When Anabel protests, saying that she should stay at her hotel to work on the deal with her assistants, Park laughs, invites her entire team, and offers to send a car. In the end, Anabel agrees.

Anabel passes along Park's invitation to her associates. After some discussion, the Agents conclude that it would be best to make Saturday a girls' night out: Anabel, Qoqa acting as her EA, Jili in the role of her technical consultant, and Wen posing as an intern. Klas, Lev, and Paul agree that three large, scarred tough guys could only complicate a polite social situation. With that decided, the women step out to shop for outfits suitable for hobnobbing with high-powered businesspeople.

Saturday night seems to take forever to roll around, but eventually it's party time. As promised, Park sends a car – and like everything else associated with Park, it's expensive. The chauffeur drops off the four women at a fancy-looking venue with several large balconies, lots of security, and a fair-sized swarm of well-dressed guests. Inside, the Agents see money on display in the food and drink, the service, the entertainment, and everything else.

Park spots Anabel almost instantly, and is visibly thrilled to have not one but four women to hit on. He's most interested in Anabel, but Jili catches his eye as well. From there things go well. Anabel and Jili manage to impress some of the livelier guests on the dance floor, with Anabel in particular drawing the attention of at least one "cool dude" who's a fair dancer himself. Meanwhile, Wen proves surprisingly popular with everyone who could pass as young and reasonably hip.

As evening swirls into night, a twist slinks into the room in the bejeweled form of Mrs. Gae, the glamorous wife of the fabulously wealthy industrialist host, and undisputed social queen of the scene. She outright flirts with Anabel, winks across the floor at Jili, and invites them both to the "party within the party" a little later on. Recognizing that the two are here with Mr. Park, she assures Anabel that Park is invited, too. A few minutes later, she approaches Wen in much the same way, clearly homing in on the newcomers whom the other guests have decided are fascinating.

Anabel, Jili, and Wen find a moment to compare notes, and decide that however weird things become, they had better play along if Park is going to be there. Qoqa promises to keep an eye on the party, or at least the vodka, while they're gone. At any rate, it looks as if the hosts might be middle-aged and wealthy, but certainly not conservative . . .