Gemsicuted

Written by Julian Robov

Twelve

Mahesak Road thrived like the famous 47th street of New York, in a discreet way behind the tinted glass windows accommodating the small and big time dealers of every denomination. Foreign buyers in every color, size, and disguise had no other choice but to choose selectively the right brokers in order to get close to the gem dealers in specialty merchandise. Everyone knew someone in this multimillion-dollar transaction street. Anyone entering this sacred street required one magic mantra.
RELATIONSHIP!

A native of New Zealand, brought up in Australia and finally destined to live in Bangkok for the past forty years, Winston Lord became known in the gem district as one of the top gem dealers along with Ris Rubyhall. Like some of his friends in the trade, he settled in Bangkok marrying Ben of Thai Chinese stock, who happened to descend from a gem trading family of Chantaburi province. He worked quietly from his office in TD building, a low profile three-room facility along with the big miners from Burma, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Private collectors from the Middleeast, Europe, and North America came secretively to his office absorbing the rare and expensive ones as soon as they arrived, never again to be seen in the local market. He enjoyed seeing his rubies emerging in style in famous auctions houses like Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips, through third parties or special agents. They all played their own games discreetly in different levels, but Lord was well versed in the games and knew when to accommodate a friend and subdue an enemy.
The telephone rang.
“Lord!”
“Ken speaking!”
“Oh, Ken, where are you?” Lord answered the call, while flicking through the Time magazine cover story on the latest Russian crisis.
“Just arrived from Indonesia,” Ken Solby replied jovially.
“Indonesia? What the heck are you doing there? Advising, Suharto?” Lord asked jokingly.
“Not yet,” Solby continued. “So how are things with Rubyhall? Have you nailed the sonofabitch?”
He had been seeking a revenge act against Rubyhall for sometime after he was thrown out of a mining deal in Indonesia by the invisible hands of Rubyhall’s cronies.
“Nailed? My rubies have already started to bleed his balls, then his hands, the last stop his heart. One more plunge, dead meat,” Lord said indignantly. He too had a score to settle. So both, Ken and Lord were in the same boat.
“How are the boys doing? Are they safe?” Ken asked.
“Oh yeah. If they play cat and mouse with me, their meat will end up in one of those special restaurants in Bangkok. I can handle them. Don’t worry.”
Lord remembered the day when he decided to use Tito and Miko as his proxies to play his game with Rubyhall.
“They must be having a hard time raising the money,” Ken recalled.
“Oh, yeah, they have all the time in the world to raise money in whatever partnership they want, except Rubyhall. That’s the bait. I know he is already after them. I can afford to lose some money with this 37carat. I want to teach him a lesson. He ratted me like Mobutu Sese Seko in that copper deal. I can’t forget that. I know his weakness too well. RUBIES! It’s like taking his breath out of his body. He will do anything to lick the ruby. That’s what I want to see. How on earth is he going to grab this 37carat piece?” Lord bit his tongue, as he became excited.
“Lot of blood spilling in the coming days, Winston?” Ken said softly.
“Very much so. But if the boys are lucky and raise the money to give me my price, they can have all the profits and retire if they want. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for them. Like those lottery jackpots. They haven’t done anything like this before.” Lord glanced at the parcel of rough rubies brought in by Ben for his opinion.
“What happens if they lose?” Ken alerted.
Lord paused.
“Head is worthless, if you can’t make money. That simple.” Lord gestured Ben to send it back to its owner. JUNK!
“Show time, right?” Ken asked.
“Yeah, it is. Keep watching. Are you in Bangkok?” Lord asked.
“Pattaya!”