Gemscentric

Written by Julian Robov


Twelve


It was ten fifteen in the morning. He was late. The lights were on. He looked at his naked body, and then glanced at the blanket rolled into a corner. He rubbed his eyes several times to make sure he was still awake. The bedroom looked clean and tidy except his table. Then he saw the note on the table.

A simple thank you from Potch. He flipped the note, and there was a telephone number. She always did things like that. The notebook computer and telephone were plugged on. Before he could reach the bathroom, the phone buzzed.
“Hey, Rudy!” James called.
“Good morning to you,” Rudy said. “What’s up?”
“Be at TD building, fourth floor. Let’s say around twelve thirty. You know the building, don’t you?” James said.
“Sure. I’ll be right there.” Rudy hung up and smiled.
He slid the curtain to get a glimpse of Chao Phraya river. Long boats with their heavy cargo moved slowly to their destination. The crew sang a melodious folk song he had heard before while in the northeastern part of Thailand.

By twelve noon, he was on Silom Road. He paid the taxi fare and decided to walk to Mahesak. Several African dealers with their black leather bags full of rough gems crossed the road to Warner Towers. Some recognized him and waved at him. Rudy knew they would be chasing him to buy their junk. But he liked them for one reason—a source for rough gems of a different quality. Gem brokers, salesmen in gray and white uniform with polished gems, ran from building to building, either selling or negotiating a deal. The crowded streets, with people and food vendors, occupying every nook and corner of the back streets in and around Mahesak, made it naturally colorful. The security guard in front of the building recognized, and informed Rudy that James had already arrived. He walked past the red carpeted stairs to the fourth floor. The front door was open.
“Hey, Rudy, welcome back to Mahesak,” Lec Dutoit continued, “and James told me all about you and the plans. Okay, buddy—take your seat. Tea?”
“Darjeeling,” Rudy said.
“Now listen. Seri, is a real asshole. If you think you can cut him off from the trade, you’ll be doing a favor to me and to my friends. The locals think we can be handled the way they like, and guess what? I’ve been seeing all kind of stones I can’t sell. What’s going on? Believe me, it’s a fucking cat-and-mouse game. And you must be careful this time,” Lec said with a grin.
Lec Dutoit, a Canadian, and a gifted dealer specializing in blue sapphires from Burma, Cambodia, Thailand and Madagascar had tremendous access to the top miners and rough dealers, who used him as an agent to sell their goods in the international market.

Rudy too had done some business with him in the past. It was good. And he had excellent information on demand and supply trend around the world among the top class collectors, a unique facility he took advantage to its zenith. Seri and Lec were like two lions in a cage. They never got along well. In fact, Seri sold a blue sapphire through another broker—a trusted guy of Lec—one surface-diffused blue sapphire of 20carats as natural to a rich new client. It took Lec a while to know the true situation as his customer—an Arab merchant—returned to his office from Dubai, with a gun and a dagger. The Arab wanted to kill Lec for the misrepresentation. Lec was forced to pay double the price and other costs to clear his name. When he traced the source of the scam, it was none other than Seri. From that day onward, Lec had been thinking about how to square Seri. Now the opportunity had come from nowhere, and he was willing to go the extra mile to drive Seri to his grave by whatever means.
“Okay. What’s the deal?” Rudy asked.
“James tells me that you are going to buy out his business in two stages. First, as a partner, and then taking full control. How? I know there is a better way. You can join my business, if you want,” Lec said laughingly.
“I need to first use Seri to square his partner in disguise, frigging Jeffrey. It was he who set up the trap in Cambodia. I met Meechai, in the same jungle where I was holed up. He told me all about it, and in fact he gave me a blue sapphire, as a luck charm to be used at an appropriate time. You know something? He hid this blue sapphire in his fucking penis to tell me his fucking story. I want Jeffrey in the flesh, and Seri is the best bait. He is in trouble and needs money. That’s my game,” Rudy answered.
“So we have a common enemy, don’t we?” James interrupted.
“I want Seri’s two fingers as a reminder. You can take the rest,” Lec replied with a hearty laugh and walked to the tea pot. “More tea?”
Lec poured tea into each glass and slumped in his chair.
“Any time limit for the acquisition?” Lec asked.
“Five weeks. In fact, if everything goes well it should be all over in a few days,” Rudy said firmly.
“You know something about Jeffrey?” Lec added. “He is a jackal. And there are several jackals in all the countries where we do business. He is no different from the despots of all these countries. You know what I’m talking about. You can call him the Slobodavan Milosovic of the gem trade. It won’t be that easy.”
“I know. That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Act like him,” Rudy said.