sensible – apparently, he thought it was wrong to share information with me. Shipments from the plant began, and in the first batch received, Lutsk found a violation of the standard for the most important parameter – the viscosity of bitumen. I figured out that the viscosity of bitumen is determined by the depth of penetration of the needle. The question arose – either we stop the shipment, or we solve quality issues by lowering the price or increasing the payment period, if this is not critical for the technology. We went the second way and offered the plant to specify the tank numbers, the weight of the cargo and the amount of deviation from GOST. And here is a letter on the letterhead of the LRZ plant with signatures and seals on my desk: a deviation of the limit parameters was detected in six railway cars…
The writer O. Henry in one novel has an example of a meaningless question: what is a policeman for? And why is there a smart boss and a computer, let me ask? Also a meaningless question! And in order, I will answer you that you can miraculously make sixty out of six cars on paper, and ask for a discount in the price from the manufacturer of this bitumen in the amount of fifty percent, and the most amazing thing is that the refinery agreed with this. In fact, these cars with bitumen stood on the tracks for a long time, the director of the LRZ even saw them with his own eyes, but he could not buy them. And if I could, why would we exist then, because our company took the risks of non-payment, and for the refinery, in theory, it is not permissible.
Day after day, week after week, and there is still no money for bitumen, despite our requests and demands. But suddenly a miracle happened: a familiar supplier from roofing material contacted Sergey and said in an agitated voice that some people had called the director of the plant, threatened on behalf of the Holding and advised the director to «say goodbye to his family». For debts, you have to understand. Of course, the sane Sergey Nikolaevich, as a former employee of the internal affairs bodies, brushed aside all these fabrications and said that he did not know anything about it, and there could be no such thing, we are not the mafia… We exchanged meaningful glances. Soon the payment slowly began to creep, but apparently not very significant in order to calm down some evil forces. After a while, we were informed that the director’s summer cottage had accidentally burned down. Then the director quit, something with health that did not allow him to live long in retirement.
The responsible persons at the roofing material plant stirred in fright, began to look for money and offer barter – in fact, the roofing material itself. This is what Sergey did, but without much success, our long-time partner in fuel oil, Andrey, joined him to help. He himself was originally from Ukraine and had useful contacts. But in general, the situation was difficult, the debt remained significant. In April, two representatives of the plant came to us to negotiate with our management – I would not like to be in their place. The result: Khazir Daudovich at the meeting abruptly stated that Muzychenko had «failed» the contract with Lutsk (by the way, I have never heard him call Sergei by his first name). Sergey hung on a thread, he was suspended from exports and left only deliveries to Russia. Viktor Vasilyevich, the head of the department, was assigned to deal with petroleum oils and reassigned to Vice-President Amir, effectively removing him from large-tonnage petroleum products – fuel oil and diesel fuel. As Gorchakov told me, a talented organizer and a successful performer of this plan:
– We have defeated the Ukrainian mafia!
Including me.
Chapter eleven. The Svetogorsk fiasco
In mid-April, an excited Andrey from Moscow appeared in our office again – fuel oil is urgently needed for the Svetogorsk Pulp and Paper Mill, the plant is almost idle due to fuel shortage! Taking into account the previous positive experience of supplies and assistance in Lutsk, Khazir Daudovich agrees to supply five thousand tons of fuel oil from the Grozny refinery. But this is not enough for the buyer – and he goes to Vladislav Konstantinovich’s office for negotiations with the president, where I was present at that time. The conversation was about the supply of seven thousand tons of fuel oil from Kstovo. From a business discussion, negotiations have descended to the level of emotions like:
– Will you bet?! – I’ll bet!!, and you’ll pay?!! – I’ll pay!!!
Unacceptable liberty! They stood facing each other and exchanged angry glances, as before weighing before a fight. That’s what MMA is… I was silent because the honor and reputation of everyone who is above me in status was hurt. I admit that it was my mistake, it was necessary to intervene – what could such a beginning lead to? However, the experienced Gorchakov understood that urgent shipment could be provided no earlier than in three or four days, since the refinery is a huge inertial machine, there are plans for shipments, fuel production, tank supply and much more, the same export contracts. Thus, most of the start of deliveries on schedule would have passed on the twentieth of April, and the cargo itself would have arrived to the consumer in the last days of April – the first days of May. But he could not refuse Khazir Daudovich’s request. In addition, given the difference in distances, the beginning of May is the most realistic delivery time for fuel oil from Grozny.
In Svetogorsk, too, they were not fools – they ordered an urgent delivery for May from another seller, besides Andrey. It is unknown where the dispatching service of the combine and the sober heads of the management were, only by the eighth of May two deliveries, April and May, twelve thousand tons of ours and ten of others, converged at the Svetogorsk station. Wait a minute, twenty-two thousand tons – three hundred and sixty tanks on the railway tracks of the station and the plant itself! This collapse led to the transport paralysis of the enterprise, the combine could not even export its products, and the downtime of our tanks, and this is a lot of money. Andrey went to investigate the problem as a supplier, from us Sergey as the owner of the cargo with our driver. From fragmentary information: in Svetogorsk there was a serious conflict with factory and especially with May suppliers, it came to a brawl, whose tanks were the first to drain, they say, we were almost killed. The guys from Svetogorsk returned to our office late at night overexcited, Sergei sent someone from the management in a drunken state and was fired in the morning of the same day for his prank. I was sorry to part with him, he proved himself to be an outstanding person, purposeful and enthusiastic, who read Shakespeare in the original, however, after the fifth glass of «coffee». He loved to shoo, somehow appeared drunk in the «Holding» in a flashy tie, khaki suit and a cigar in his teeth – Mr. Twister, businessman and banker!
Once he provoked an international conflict: he attached his fantasy to the photo of the US president and sent the said creation to the fax of the American consulate in St. Petersburg. The Americans shared the news with the police department, and a fine of several thousand rubles was issued to our office phone – to the company, of course. Despite the temporary setbacks, with the knowledge of Voytalyuk and secretly from me, he broke into the program of cooperation with the United States, where he left for a week, personally communicated with the famous economist, academician Leontiev and despite the strict ban («fuck them…") was photographed at the CIA headquarters in Langley against the background of the American flag. A few photos with Mr. Leontiev and in the holy of holies of American intelligence in the album to confirm his unquenchable vanity: That’s the kind of dude I am… It became cramped for him at our place, cramped. It’s not surprising: he is now a fairly well-known media personality in St. Petersburg, an advertising agent and the representative of two foreign companies in Russia. He found himself: look at how Sergei dances at the presentation: it’s his soul dancing! In general, I’m happy for him…
Chapter twelve. Dell Holdings Limited
I was suddenly transferred to another office together with Inna, a smart and quick-witted girl who recently worked in our department, the room was equipped with new computers and stylish furniture.
