The Money Is Green (20 page)

Looking around slowly, John leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Wo Sung called. He wants you to return his call as soon as you can.”

“Is it urgent?” Congressman Waters asked, concern tingeing his voice.

“No, Wo didn’t indicate there was anything amiss, just that he would like to speak to you soon.”

“Okay, good.” He pulled a handkerchief out of his breast pocket and wiped his forehead. He then took off his wire-rimmed glasses and wiped them also. “I’ll wait for the vote on this bill to be finished and then go outside and call him.” He glanced up at the podium and saw that the other congressman had stopped speaking and the Speaker of the House was calling for the vote. He patted John’s arm. “I’ll be done in about fifteen minutes with this vote. Meet me back at my office in an hour.”

John nodded and headed toward the huge hand-carved oak doors that served as the entrance to the chamber.

Twenty minutes later, Congressman Waters was outside the Capitol, leaning on one of its massive white pillars, his cellphone at his ear. Every so often he would glance around the premise, checking the surroundings. A voice came on the phone after a couple of rings.

“Eugene, how are you doing this fine day?” Wo Sung asked, his voice bright and chipper.

“Wo, I’m good. John told me you called earlier. What can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to let you know that we’ve made two practice runs with Mei’s plane to Mexico and back and everything went along without a hitch,” Wo told him in an excited voice. “We’re going to try the real thing on Tuesday. If everything goes according to plan, we all are going to be a whole lot richer come next Thursday.”

“This is great news, Wo. Excellent work.” Waters smiled and nodded as another congressman walked by him heading toward the chamber hall. “You had no problems. That’s great. I’ll pass this information on to Madam Chen. She’ll be very pleased to hear this.”

“That would be good. It would be very helpful to keep her in the loop in case any problems arise with the Mexican government.” Wo paused a moment. “Assuming this is a successful mission, we plan on another operation in two weeks. Same cargo, same routine. Hopefully the results will be the same.”

“If this is successful, which I believe it will be, we could do this for years,” Waters said, lowering his voice, trying to hold his excitement. “The Cartel has an insatiable appetite for guns. We could be set for life!”

“Set for life is a good thing. Alright, I won’t keep you any longer. I’ll call you on Tuesday and let you know how everything turns out.”

“I’ll be waiting anxiously for your call, Wo.”

He looked around the Capitol for a second and then headed down the massive steps toward the sidewalk. A brisk fifteen-minute walk brought him to his office, where John was waiting. Congressman Waters motioned for John to follow him inside. Taking a last look out
at the area outside his office, Congressman Waters shut the office door.

Stepping around the desk, he plopped into his chair and put both hands on it. “Well, John, we’re going for the real deal on Tuesday.” He rubbed his hands together, smiling. “They’ve done two dry runs and everything went according to plan. This could be a very profitable two weeks!”

John nodded. “That’s great, Congressman. That will make our lives easier if we don’t have to go begging for money every couple of years to finance your re-election.”

“Amen to that,” he said, clapping his hands together. “I won’t miss those laughable fundraisers at those senseless churches. I could really cut back on them.”

Pulling a file he had sitting on his lap, John asked, “Do you want to go over these now? There are a couple bills in here that you volunteered me to co-sponsor.”

“Yeah, let’s get it over with.” Waters looked down at his watch. “I’ve got a drink appointment with a friend at five o’clock.” He leaned across his desk and winked at John. “A fine-looking lady friend, I might add. You’ve met Gloria, I believe.”

John smiled and shook his head. “Indeed I have. I don’t know where you find all the stamina to keep these ladies happy. You are the man!”

Straightening his tie, the congressman nodded his head. “Somebody’s got to do it. Okay, what’s the first bill I’m co-sponsoring?”

John flipped open the file and started reading. “This one is the semi-automatic and automatic weapons restrictions bill.” John looked up, a puzzled expression on his face.

Congressman Waters started laughing out loud and then John joined in, their voices filling up the room. Finally, Waters pulled his handkerchief from his coat pocket and wiped his eyes. “Oh my god, that’s precious. If anyone ever found out what we’re doing in our spare
time while we work to keep these other rifles off the streets of America, they would have a field day with me.”

Putting his hand to his mouth, John started to cough. “Yeah, they would have a field day with you,” he said between coughs. “Let’s just hope they don’t find out.”

“Let’s move on,” Waters said as he set the bill aside. “I know that bill backwards and forward and it’s got wide support, especially after that massacre at that high school in San Diego. The timing of this bill is perfect. My record on gun control has to be the strongest in Congress. What’s the next one?”

John set the first file on the floor by his foot and started to read the second one. “This bill you’re co-sponsoring with Congressman Milken of Delaware. The bill states there should be a cap on all emissions from factories in the United States. If a company can’t meet the standards we set, they either have to pay a fine or they can trade with another company who doesn’t put out as many emissions. Either way, we’ll tax the exchange. It’s another form of cap and trade. The revenue which is generated is intended to be put into more social services.”

“That’s the one the Friends of the Earth are strongly behind, correct?”

John nodded. “Yes, they’re one hundred percent behind this one. This will make you a lot of friends in the environmental movement and will open some major doors to their large donors for your campaign. This one is a no-brainer.”

“I like no-brainers,” Waters said as he looked over John’s shoulder at the clock on the wall. I wish he would hurry up, he thought. Gloria’s gonna be at the Haight Street Grill in about a half an hour and I can’t wait to run my hands over her silky thighs. He leaned back, closing his eyes and barely hearing John as he droned on. Oh, what I’m gonna do to that woman when we get back to her place tonight. Hmmm, I’m getting a tingling sensation just thinking about her. His thoughts were interrupted when John called his name a second time.

“Excuse me, Congressman, did you hear what I said?” John asked inquisitively. “I asked if you want me to go ahead and sign your name to these bills and send them back to the other sponsors so they can introduce them at the next session.”

Waters leaned forward and slapped both hands on the desk. “Yes, that would be splendid, John. Sign my name and send them on. Well, I guess we’re finished here for the day, correct?”

John bent down, picked up the files by his feet, and stood up. “I believe we are, Congressman. I hope you enjoy your drink with Miss Gloria tonight, and tell her I said hello. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning.” He turned and left the office.

Waters watched him leave. I’m lucky to have John as an aide. He does the work of four others and keeps his mouth shut. I’m going to help him get into Congress some day and he can take over where I leave off. Well, I shouldn’t keep Gloria waiting. It’s time to clock out for the day. He stood up, grabbed his coat, and strode out of the office.

T
WENTY
-S
EVEN

M
ei stood over the kitchen sink, a tall slender plastic container with a plastic straw coming out of the top in her right hand. Unscrewing the top, she added a small amount of the clear liquid to the juice already in the container. She swirled it around and headed toward the second bedroom. When she approached, she could hear Brian’s soft moaning. He lay in the bed in only a pair of white boxer shorts, the sheets pulled up over his waist. His hair was soaking wet and he was sweating profusely. Mei sat on the bed next to him and picked up a washcloth soaking in a bowl of water. She washed his forehead and chest.

“Here, Brian, I’ve brought you some more juice,” she said to him as she helped him sit upright. “You’re terribly dehydrated and you need more liquids.”

He feebly sucked on the straw for a few minutes, and then fell back on the bed, his eyes rolling. He squeezed her hand and mumbled almost incoherently, “Mei, please, take me to the hospital. I need a hospital.”

Patting his hand, she scolded him, “Now, now, Brian. I’ve treated fevers and colds before. You’ll be good as new in a few days. I
promise you, though, if you’re not better by tomorrow, I’ll get you to a hospital.” She stood up and grabbed the drink from his hand and replaced it with a pen. She placed a document on a clipboard on his lap and helped put his hand at the bottom. “Sign your name on this line. It’s a letter to your staff that you’ll be out for a few days but that everything is fine.”

Brian mumbled something incoherently and she helped him scribble a semblance of his signature at the bottom of the document. She pulled the document from him, took the pen out of his hand, and patted his forehead. “Now get some rest. I’ve got some things that I need to take care of. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of Copper Mountain while you gain your strength.”

Brian said something slurred, then rolled over on his side. Mei put the top sheet over him and left the room, shutting the door behind her. She went into her office and held the document up to the light. “Perfect,” she said out loud. “The signed contract for Copper Mountain.” She dialed her cellphone.

Jason picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”

“It’s Mei. I need you to do a couple of things for me.”

Jason answered in a worried voice. “Mei, where have you been? I’ve been trying to track you down for almost four days! I wanted to discuss the two deaths we had at the factory a few days ago.”

Looking back at the bedroom where Brian was lying, she said, “I’ve been very indisposed the last few days, so I haven’t answered my calls. I don’t have time to talk about the factory deaths right now. Those two workers were fools. If they were doing their jobs properly, they wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Listen to me, Jason, Brian signed the contract for Copper Mountain and we’re good to start. I want you to gear up the Shanghai plant and get ready to start shipping the panels in less than two weeks.”

“That’s great news about the contract, Mei, but you can’t just brush those deaths under the rug. I want to make the factory safer for
our workers. Where’s Brian? I haven’t been able to reach him for a few days. I want to tell him thanks for the opportunity.”

Mei took a deep breath. “Uh, Brian has become very ill and he asked me to make sure Copper Mountain gets off to a good start. I promised him I’d help keep everything going until he gets better.”

“What’s wrong with Brian?” he asked. “He’s always been healthy as a horse. Is he going to be down for very long?”

“That’s one of the problems,” she said. “No one knows what’s wrong with him. He’s got symptoms of the flu, but usually that goes away after a day or two. He’s been sick for four days. If he doesn’t improve, I’ll have to take him back to the hospital.”

“What are his doctors saying?”

Mei held the fingernails on her left hand up to her eyes. “They aren’t sure. They sent him home with me yesterday and told me to keep him comfortable and give him lots of liquids. That’s what I’m doing.” She looked over at the room as if she suspected Brian would miraculously leap out of bed and hear her conversation. “Anyway, Brian gave Soltech the Copper Mountain contract to supply all the solar panels and I’ll send it to you in the next half hour or so.”

“I can’t believe it. Copper Mountain is ours for sure?” he asked. “That’s incredible news. Congratulations.”

Before she could answer, she heard Jason let about a big whoopee and then shout out to the people in the office that Soltech had gotten the Copper Mountain job. She could hear the pandemonium break out on the other side of the phone. “Jason!” she shouted. “Jason!”

“I’m sorry, Mei,” he said as he came back on. “I had to share the news with the staff here. We’re all pumped up about it.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” she said with a hint of irritation in her voice. “I want you to start accumulating the panels we’re going to need at our hangar at the Shanghai Airport. I want to be in a position to ship the first batch of solar panels to Nevada in a couple of weeks.”

There was a pause on the line. “Will Inter-Power be ready for the panels that early?” he asked. “I thought they had barely begun grading
the area where the panels were going to be installed. There still needs to be months of underground work done before the panels will be installed.”

“I know the process, Jason,” she said. “But I want as many panels to be in Nevada as soon as possible so that when they’re needed we’ll have them ready. We’ve got a place to store them in Nevada so they’re not going to be damaged, and,” she paused to emphasize her point, “once they’re shipped from China, I can bill Inter-Power for them. Also, contact Bill Howard, Brian’s point man for the Copper Mountain job, and co-ordinate his scheduling needs with ours. Brian contacted his staff at Inter-Power that Soltech was the winning bidder, so everyone there knows we’ll be the working on Copper Mountain together.”

“Okay, I’ll do that,” he said. “I’ll send notice to Shanghai to start gearing up. But you need to let me implement some safety measures there, Mei. We don’t need any more industrial accidents at our factory.”

“You can make changes, Jason, but don’t do anything radical that’s going to cost a lot of money. Right now I’m selling the panels at a profitable price. I don’t want that to change because our costs are going through the roof.”

Mei walked back to the bedroom and poked her head through the door. Brian was still writhing in pain, sweating and mumbling incoherently. She pulled back and sat down on the couch in the living room.

“I want you to go to Shanghai, Jason, and personally oversee the gearing up of the production line,” she said. “How soon can you make arrangements to be there?”