Gemscentric

Written by Julian Robov

Seven


Punctuality was the last thing in the world for Johnny Longman and his Thai partner Surachan Dokmai. Both were dealers specializing in blue sapphires from Cambodia, and took care of their international clients well. They had the whole ground floor for business operation on Srichan Road (Chantaburi). Surachan controlled the local interests, and Johnny took care of international clients who came for special good color blues. Sometimes they not only came for buying blue sapphires, but also for grading nice and good-looking young virgins. If possible they became permanent entertainers and karaoke partners after business. The business hours remained active between ten in the morning till five in the evening. Friday and Saturday evenings were either spent in special homes or with their brokers. Late dining and having some fun became a common practice.

But Johnny had his style. He would bring Russian blondes from Sukhumvit and Pattaya for entertaining his foreign clients. His clients loved this extra-curricular activity after business, and always returned punctually to his den when looking for blue sapphires. Money wasn’t a problem for them because each buying trip ranged, anywhere from half a million to several million dollars. Rudy and James knew that Johnny was the man to be brought into their net. An Englishman by birth, he never stayed in one place permanently. Instead, all the paper work and legal issues were handled by Surachan. Well into his late forties, and engaged to several women—twelve by the last count—and lately to a young women from Chile, he had a way of finessing women, who stayed with him lavishly for a year or two, and then they were sent back to their country, to be taken care of by him for the rest of their lives. This patriarchal concern, coupled to a philanthropic policy ensured that these former lovers remained staunchly loyal to him, and would again help if they were needed.
He was a very shrewd and a fast-calculating businessman. Rudy had done business with him several times over the years. They had become good friends. He knew about the world market trends, and the best size and colors in demand in advance. He was always ten years ahead of his competitors when it came to forecasting a price situation or just a popular demand. What really attracted Rudy to him was his constant alertness no matter where he was. He had good connections with the miners and other brokers, a very rare phenomenon in this usually dog-eat-dog market.
When Rudy walked into his office Friday morning at around ten, he was there as usual in his casuals sorting some blues from the drawer.
“Rudy,” he called, and motioned to him to sit close to his table. James too pulled up a chair and sat opposite Johnny.
“I hear that you were out of Cambodia, but boy look at you. You lost a bit of your unnecessary fat. Good for you. So, what brings you here?” Johnny asked.
“Business. Nothing more, nothing less,” responded Rudy. Johnny liked his comment. BUSINESS. That has been in his veins for the last twenty five years, and he had no desire stopping anywhere in the near future.
“There were a lot of rumors in the trade when we heard about your kidnapping in Pailin. But my gut feeling is either it must be Robert Chan or Jeffrey Generall—the snake. I’m still not too sure. Both of them owe me a lot and from what I hear is....”
“What?” James and Rudy moved closer to Johnny to finish the complete sentence.
“One of these guys takes his prey to the jungle in the guise of making a deal, and then leaves him in a trap for the renegade soldiers to either kill or keep for ransom. I think that was the situation in your case. Good that you guys had the money to take you out of the hell. If I ever see him anywhere in Chantaburi, I’ll kill him first, and feed his meat to one of my crocodiles in the farm.”
“What do you think about Seri?” James interrupted.
“He is a fucking pussy-cat—useless. But you can use him to track the sonofabitch. I’m told Robert has fled to Hong Kong or Macau, but Jeffrey is still in the country. He is like a ghost. He can be here one day and tomorrow elsewhere,” Johnny said.
Telephone calls kept arriving from all over the world, as he heard the country name where people were calling him for special stones. His office began to warm up, as selected brokers walked in with their stone parcels. They saw Surachan running around like a hare with three cell-phones, as the market began to heat up with asking, bidding and transactions prices. The scene was too familiar to Rudy after a long absence of six years, he realized that he too needed a similar warm up session to get back to his instincts.
“So, when do you think you’re planning to get back to business?” Johnny asked.
“In five weeks. As you know, starting all over again is not that easy. Trust and face recognition takes time. But with the old team still intact—and, of course, your presence should all help me in the coming days,” Rudy added.
“Anytime, anywhere—just a call. You know that too well, don’t you? I really feel sorry for the misery you had to go through in that bloody hell. Believe me, you will become stronger and smarter when you are standing on your bums. So, good luck to you all, and you know where to contact me, right?” Johnny stated.
Before he was about to leave the office, Johnny turned around and asked a pertinent question. “Do you have the money?”
Instead, Rudy gave a thumbs up sign to let him know that he was on his way. He knew he really didn’t mean anything, but it did hurt him.
James knew that grueling days were ahead, as they were trying to put the loose strings together. Rudy looked around the market. He identified the same smell, noise, and the colorful people he used to deal with during the hey days. Some recognized his face and called his name respectfully, while others murmured in privacy not knowing what was going on. They were too scared to ask directly, but were happy that at least he was back in the flesh again. He hadn’t run away like the others. No one knew the true story behind his long absence.

Instead of returning to the hotel, Rudy urged James to walk with him. A huge steel-cut gemstone stood at the entrance of the street introducing the presence of a vibrant gem market. Several shop houses and gem dealers—small and big, sat behind their tinted glass windows, either watching a soap on the tele or entertaining their clients. Some recognized and waved at him, as he walked past their office. There was an immediate urgency to know more about him. He missed the whole natural environment a lot. He used to love this place better than Bangkok. The people here were a bit friendlier than Bangkokians. Greed and a money grabbing attitude had taken over in a matter of time. Their mind and attitude were as ugly and filthy as their own armpit—only they could stand the smell.

After a brief stroll at the fruit market, they decided to walk back to the hotel. Suddenly James noticed that very same BMW again.
“Did you notice that car?” James asked in panic.
“There are hundreds going up and down. Which one are you talking about?”
Rudy’s interest was elsewhere. He was staring at the kid who was trying to convince a potential client to buy his red stone. His persistence at least forced the client to seal the single stone for bidding.
“Did you see that kid?” Rudy asked James. James nodded.
They were now walking over the bridge, and again he saw the BMW coming from the opposite direction.
“Did you see that bloody car again Rudy?” James said softly.
“Yeah. What’s wrong with that car? Isn’t it still moving on four wheels? Am I wrong?” Rudy said. He didn’t mean anything.
“It’s that very same car we saw at the gas station. They have been chasing us for sometime. I don’t know why, but it doesn’t look like a good omen,” James added.
“They must be some dealers who had come from God-knows-where—you know, on a buying trip. We haven’t gotten hurt yet. So, let’s think positive,” Rudy said.
They took their seats at the K. P Grand restaurant, and ordered two bottles of Singha beer.