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The Company
Time: Friday, July 9, 2010 (evening).
Place: Canberra, Australia.
Last Event: Arriving from London by corporate jet.
At a quiet table in their business hotel, the Agents (including new recruit Paul Mullen) discuss what to do with the Cephalopod after it crosses the Indian Ocean from South Africa toward the end of the month. Consensus is that selling it would be wisest. A huge yacht affords future enemies a slow-moving and eminently visible target, while even half of its fair value would represent a tremendous boost to the team's operating budget. Given the number of luxury motor yachts that pass through Thailand annually, the group decides that's where to trawl for buyers.
Contacting the Cephalopod crew to fill them in on this plan, the Canberra group learns that the vessel is slated to leave Durban on July 12 and can reach the Bangkok area around July 30. In the three weeks until then, the Agents in Australia decide to play tourist, traveling around Oz to see its reefs and wildlife. Wen is especially interested in doing some scuba diving, while several of the others see this as an opportunity to hone their camera-handling skills in a pleasant environment. Anabel books the necessary flights, hotels, and rental cars first thing in the morning.
The impromptu vacation goes well – no assassins take potshots at anyone, and no wetsuit-clad abductors come for Wen while she's diving. By the end of July, everybody is fully recovered from the U.K. ordeal and ready to return to work. The flight to Bangkok is uneventful, getting the group to Thailand in plenty of time to clear the airport and check into their hotel, where they wait for their colleagues to arrive by sea. The Cephalopod puts into port the evening of July 30. Paul meets Ben, Hamid, JB, Klas, Lev, and Zhang for the first time, and plans are made over a meal.
Qoqa feels strongly that the yacht needs to be "cleaned" before it can be sold. Vinnie agrees, and also wants time to tune up the engines. The eventual decision is that all 12 Agents will work on the Cephalopod until it's evidence-free, ship-shape, and in top condition to sell. JB confirms that the necessary (false) papers have been filed and that the docking fees have been paid; nobody should come around asking questions.
The Agents work nonstop over the next few days. Ben and Vinnie tune the engines. Hamid and Jili wipe the memory of every device aboard that records data, reinstall operating systems on all the computers, and then spend a few baht to upgrade the oldest electronics. Wen touches up the paint where it's looking weathered, adding a few decorative flourishes while she's at it. The other seven, supervised by Qoqa, unload the team's possessions and then scrub, clean, and polish everything in sight. By the evening of August 2, things are looking great.
After that, it's time for the real cleaning. Qoqa shoos everybody off the yacht but Ben (who's quite adept at forensic matters) and the two ex-cops, Paul and Zhang. The four of them carefully purge the vessel of anything that might point to or incriminate the group: stray rounds of ammo, shell casings, hair in the drains, the works.
By around noon on August 3, the Cephalopod is good to go. Discussion turns to setting up the sale of a 50-metre luxury motor yacht, worth some €40million, on short notice. The basic strategy revolves around playing up the fact that the vessel is barely used (indeed, its false papers claim that it's on its maiden voyage out of Ibiza) and in pristine condition, thus offering a unique pay-and-sail opportunity. While a sufficiently wealthy person could buy a ready-to-sail yacht through a broker, this one is going for a second-hand price – and it won't involve waiting weeks to months for brokerage, never mind years for construction.
As Vinnie explains, a high price is a disincentive only to those who can't afford it. The key to selling a vehicle worth millions of Euros is to deal with people worth billions, for whom a 50-meter yacht would be "just another boat." Anabel is confident that she could spot a suitable mark in the company of the ridiculously wealthy, as money can't buy brains. The catch is getting near such people without an introduction. The well-heeled have their clubs – and these establishments aren't merely pricy but also run background checks, require references, and employ top-notch security. Anabel asks her associates to start researching high-society hangouts while she buys a new wardrobe . . .
By late afternoon, Anabel is on her way to one of Bangkok's most posh addresses, clad in clothing and jewelry appropriate for the venue. The security men at the gate and hostess at the door are pros, but so is Anabel. She talks the talk and walks the walk, and manages to convince them that she's the guest (read "hot girlfriend") of a gentleman who wouldn't appreciate having attention drawn to his rendezvous with an attractive young woman. Being an expert on the Who's Who of fantastically wealthy playboys has its uses!
Inside, Anabel scans the assembled glitterati, among them famous actors, athletes, pop stars, and supermodels – they're letting anybody in these days – until she catches sight of her target: one of the thousands of Saudi princes. Not just any prince, though, but one famous for a dissolute lifestyle that involves using his great wealth to travel, buy things, and keep company with sexy women. Feigning that she's here to meet him, she strides purposefully toward the table where he's holding court with a gaggle of playboys and swimsuit-model companions. The Prince's security men move to check her out, but Anabel makes eye contact with the Prince and gets waved in.
Anabel might be a stranger, and every one of the Prince's female companions might be a "10" to her "9," but Anabel is a practiced seductress . . . and knows more about the level of society that the Prince moves in than many people at his level . . . and speaks flawless Arabic. It isn't long before she's drinking ridiculously old champagne and making the other girls jealous. She skillfully turns the conversation to yachting, and then casually raises the topic of the €40million luxury yacht that she inherited from her deceased husband. She sighs over the fact that the family plans to challenge the bequest and will probably end up selling the yacht. If she's only going to see money, then she wants to sell the thing now and not deal with endless lawyers and accountants.
The Prince thinks it's his own idea that he might want to take a look at the yacht and possibly buy it to score points with his sexy new friend. It's Anabel's idea, of course, and she goes along with it wholeheartedly. Being a playboy, though, the Prince doesn't want to inspect the yacht by daylight – he wants to hold a "test party" aboard it, to see if it can meet his Southeast Asian partying needs. And naturally, he wants to do this tonight. Anabel agrees, and then excuses herself and calls her associates: "Get the yacht ready for a big party!"
On receiving Anabel's call, everybody hastily stocks bars and fridges, dresses up, and generally prepares for a party. The Agents decide to leave Ben and JB at the hotel (they aren't young, hip party material), and likewise Klas and Lev (they love a party, but look like heavies). Paul and Zhang, being ex-cops, will work dockside security. The others will use the same cover stories they used when posing as Anabel's friends in the Med: Jili will play DJ, Hamid will pose as Jili's ostensible boyfriend, and Wen will pass herself off as a fitness guru type. Qoqa, with her intimate knowledge of booze, will tend bar, while Vinnie will stand in as Anabel's nervous accountant.
It's well after dark when two of the Prince's security men stop by to check things out. Paul and Zhang do a good job of coming off as ex-cops, and the Prince's goons find nothing suspicious aboard the yacht. One of the bodyguards calls the Prince's entourage and gives the all-clear. About 30 minutes later, the Prince and his toadies step aboard.
The ensuing party is a celebration of crass excess. Knowing what Anabel told them about the Prince's tastes, the Agents make sure that things get as rowdy and as raunchy as anyone can stand. Booze flows freely, the Prince's models are soon deep into their candy, tops come off, and the music gets very loud indeed. There's much dancing, some of it barely clothed and involving a pole that Anabel had Vinnie install for the occasion. Jili is in her element mixing tracks, while Anabel looks disturbingly at ease hanging upside down, clad in nothing but a €300 thong. On the dock, suitable cash bribes deal with the noise complaints.
Near dawn, it's time for the party to break up. The Prince tells Anabel that he's very glad to have made her acquaintance, and assumes they'll meet again . . . soon. He then gestures in Vinnie's general direction and remarks, "My man will contact your man." After that, everybody gets some much-needed sleep (although whatever pill Jili took has her bouncing off the walls well after sunrise).
Mid-morning on August 4, a courier arrives with a very costly bouquet for Anabel. It includes the Prince's personal contact info, a reminder to stay in touch, and a note that Anabel should send her assistant to meet with the Prince's aides at lunchtime. Vinnie and Hamid dress conservatively and get to the designated hotel, which proves to be very modern and expensive. It isn't hard to spot the well-dressed Arab gentlemen sitting at the private table with €5,000 notebook computers.
Vinnie takes the lead during the negotiations, while Hamid sits quietly behind his own costly notebook, waiting to handle the hoped-for funds transfer. Both get the impression that the Prince's men don't approve of the Prince's lifestyle, or Anabel, or this deal. However, this is offset by their boss' orders and their own greed. Here's an opportunity to buy a €40 million yacht at a fraction of its value – doubtless so that they can flip it for close to its full price and pocket a nice commission, and not necessarily with the Prince's knowledge.
After a lot of talking, the Prince's aides agree that given that the yacht is nearly new and in excellent condition, and that all the documents look legitimate, they'll pay €16 million for the vessel. Vinnie manages to talk them up to €20 million, but that's where the price sticks. Then Hamid and his Saudi counterpart contact their respective Swiss banks and handle the electronic funds transfer. When the meeting adjourns, the Prince has just saved €20 million on a very nice toy, while the Agents have another €20 million in clean funds that they can use to help save the world.
Later that afternoon, the Agents contact Chaturvedi via e-mail and ask, "Where to next?" He responds by evening, and says that the new smart phones are ready. He'll meet the team in Tokyo.