a bottle-opener and two large ashtrays.
Tall and athletic, Captain Uskov cleared his throat and slid forward on his seat, taking a blue folder from his case. He opened it on the table in front of him, selected a bottle from the table, flicked off the metal cap and half filled a glass, watching bubbles rise for a few seconds. This attracted everyone’s attention. Crocker thought the captain’s face was typical of the young military: pale, blue-eyed, proud and clearly apprehensive of what might befall him should he fail to perform in the presence of his superiors.
Crocker could feel some tension building inside the room. He fiddled with his pen, then began doodling on the pad resting on his lap.
‘Gentlemen,’ Uskov began, addressing the two Americans in a voice carefully unemotional, low-pitched and flat. ‘General Chernov and General Bashirev have advised me of what this meeting concerns, and have asked me to speak to you on their behalf. I graduated with honours in English from our State University here in Moscow. General Chernov speaks good English but does not feel competent to speak in a foreign language for any period of time, especially on such a complicated matter. General Bashirev, as General Chernov has said, speaks almost no English.’ Uskov ignored the silent Slava.
‘General Chernov and General Bashirev are here on behalf of themselves and a few others, who at present have come to control the commodity we are here to discuss. If you don’t mind, I shall translate for General Bashirev as we proceed.’
Bashirev sat smiling as he listened, crossing and uncrossing his arms over his bemedalled chest. Uskov translated rapidly into Russian a summary of what he had said so far, before resuming in his precise and impressively fluent English.
‘I will now give you the background of the situation. It is normal for all production of the isotope osmium 187 from the metal, which is destined for export, to have government approval. All aspects of the transactions must be approved, including the issuing of export licences, et cetera, et cetera. However, from time to time, the four main chemical plants that produce this isotope carry out this process for other countries, mainly China and South Africa, who ship in the base metal. It sometimes occurs that paperwork is not what it should be, you understand, and the isotope, for all intents and purposes, becomes lost in the system.’
Uskov glanced briefly from Crocker to Weinberg, as if to assure himself they had followed his explanation. Crocker kept his eyes fixed on Uskov. Satisfied they had understood, the captain turned to Bashirev and translated. Bashirev nodded and then responded briefly in Russian, which Uskov did not translate.
‘I cannot go into this aspect any further,’ said Uskov, returning to the Americans, ‘other than to say that the military had the opportunity to acquire, or rather, I should say, to become the owners of, this lost consignment; and using channels open only to them, the metal could find its way out of the country. Officially, the government accounting shows that this parcel of metal does not exist, and the generals would not like to change this situation, for obvious reasons. Also, the government itself could not be seen to be involved in negotiating its sale to outsiders. Does that make the situation clear?’
Crocker leant forward. ‘But what about the real owners of the original material?’
Uskov ignored the question and they all waited while he translated into Russian.
‘What do they have to say about the fact that their property has just … disappeared?’ Crocker continued, his tidy mind beginning to worry.
General Chernov smiled an avuncular smile, held up his hand to interrupt, and replied cynically, ‘Have you ever tried to take Russia to court, Mr Crocker?’ There was silence as he waited for an answer he knew would never come.
Crocker and Weinberg both nodded in unison, a hint of a smile perceptibly spreading across their lips as they began to fully comprehend the very Russian situation.
‘But let me just say this,’ the general continued, his eyes fixed on Crocker. ‘An opportunity like this does not come along very often, not in these quantities, which is why this offer is rather special. General Bashirev mentioned to me earlier that the resale price should give a margin of at least eight thousand dollars per gramme, or a hundred and sixty million minimum overall. He has been doing his homework as you can see.’ Smiling once more, he raised his bushy eyebrows, inviting further questions.
‘Okay,’ said Crocker. ‘I think I understand what has just been said, and thank you, Captain, for your background information. I think we have enough to take this matter further. Do you agree, Mark?’
Weinberg gave a minimal nod.
‘Now, what about the terms and conditions of the purchase?’ asked Crocker, watching the two generals, who seemed to be in telepathic communication.
Captain Uskov stood and walked towards the window. The snow had been cleared from the road below, leaving a wet surface reflecting the midday sun into his eyes.
‘For reasons we do not have to discuss further,’ he said, turning back to face the assembled company, ‘and which you must understand already, I am sure, the proceeds of this proposed sale are to be kept out of this country. The osmium 187 will be supplied in one-, two- and five-gramme ampoules, and it will cost us a significant amount, what with insurance, et cetera et cetera, to get such a consignment to a location convenient for you. We would prefer continental Europe, please, and we favour the modified Swiss method of settlement.’
Weinberg quickly turned his head and looked at Crocker with a puzzled expression, hoping for an explanation. Crocker raised a finger, urging his colleague to wait for the answer.
Uskov paused, to give his guests an opportunity to indicate their dislike of his preferred method of trading, and took a further sip of water. ‘We shall give you details of banks and accounts where various deposits are to be made,’ he continued, ‘and we shall require you to deposit initially one percent as a gesture of goodwill. This will be returnable, of course, should the metal not arrive on schedule. But this is most unlikely, I promise you. This deposit will cover our initial costs only. Then we shall require either a prime Bank guarantee for the balance, calculated at sixty thousand dollars per gramme, or cash deposited with your bank, which will receive at the same time your irrevocable instructions that once your laboratory has confirmed to them that the purity of the 187 isotope samples is acceptable, et cetera, et cetera, these funds will be held irrevocably by them to our order. On confirmation that such a financial commitment has been made, the metal will be delivered to your laboratory, or wherever you stipulate. The rest is between the laboratory and the banks. I understand this procedure is referred to by some as the modified Swiss method.’
He continued for some while with the specifics, concluding, ‘These are the standard procedures for such a transaction, but they are not carved in granite, as I believe you would say; and we would be willing to consider alternative proposals if they would make you more comfortable. Mr Weinberg? Mr Crocker?’
He waited for their comments. Weinberg had been making notes of what had been said. So had Slava.
‘Okay, Captain Uskov,’ said Weinberg, flicking through his notes. ‘I’ve got all that.’
‘Just one point,’ interjected Uskov after a brief conversation with Bashirev. ‘We would like your deposit to be held by your bankers in Moscow, not Geneva or Hamburg. I know we said that we wanted payment to be outside Russia, but we have our reasons, and as it is only a small part of a large transaction, we would be happier to have the first tranche here for us to control quickly. No doubt you appreciate that there is a currency exchange situation here at the moment and this would be very helpful for us. And of course it makes very little difference to
