World of Trouble (9786167611136) Read Online Free PDF Page B

them were not so good. But in the end
everything had turned to crap and the good and the bad alike had
both shared exactly the same fate. They had all ended up losers.
Shepherd didn’t want to talk about it. He wasn’t going to
talk about it.
    So Shepherd cleared his throat and changed
the subject back to the money Charlie wanted to get out of
Thailand.
    “You know as well as I do that we would have
to get permission from the Bank of Thailand to move that much money
out of the country.”
    “I know.”
    “And I really don’t think—”
    “When you get there, go to Bangkok Bank. See
a guy named Tanit Chaiya who’s an Executive Vice President in the
head office on Silom Road.”
    “I didn’t say I’d go, Charlie.”
    “All Tanit needs from you is a structure he
can use to make it all look okay. Some kind of overseas corporate
acquisition will do it. Tell him we’re buying the Eiffel Tower or
some goddamn sports team in the United States. Just make it look
good.”
    “If that’s all there is to it, why can’t I
just draft something after I get back to Hong Kong and email it to
this guy?”
    “Because the Bank of Thailand wouldn’t
approve the transfer if that was all you did. They’re not going to
approve it at all without a little persuasion.”
    Shepherd nodded, but he didn’t say anything.
He could see now where this was going.
    “You with me here?” Charlie asked.
    “How much persuasion?”
    “I’d say a couple of million would probably
get the job done. Maybe a little less or a little more. Use your
own judgment. I don’t know exactly how they’re going to play it
when we try to move the money, but I know what the bottom line is
going to be. That’s why I need somebody there to look them in the
eye and make sure this gets done. Buying people is easy. Making
sure they stay bought is a lot harder.”
    “You’re making me uncomfortable here,
Charlie.”
    “Yeah, I know.”
    “I’m not going to get involved in bribing the
Bank of Thailand. The US government takes a dim view of that sort
of thing. Americans go to jail for bribery.”
    “This isn’t a bribe.”
    “Then what would you call it?”
    “It’s like ransoming a kidnapped child.
Americans don’t put people in jail for paying ransoms, do
they?”
    “I doubt the Department of Justice would look
at this quite that way.”
    “I’m not going to sit here and let them steal
my money, Jack. That’s not right.”
    “No, it isn’t,” Shepherd admitted.
    “I’ve got to pay a few people if I want my
money back. That’s the way business works in Thailand. You know
that.”
    “Yes, I know that, but still—”
    “So I’m asking you to take care of this for
me, Jack. If I can’t do something myself, you’re my guy.”
    “I’m flattered.”
    “I’m just looking after my own interests
here. You’re the best. You know everything there is to know about
international corporate structures and banking operations. You’re
Mozart with money. You can make chicken salad out of chicken
shit.”
    “Far be it from me to sound modest, but—”
    “And I trust you,” Charlie interrupted.
“You’re smart, you’re tough, you’re connected. And you’re an honest
man. That’s why I hired you.”
    A silence fell and they both sat back for a
while and just watched those black rubber boats drifting on the
Persian Gulf. It was a companionable silence. Shepherd liked
Charlie no matter what some people said about him. He even liked
all the outrageous bullshit Charlie got involved in. Charlie was
good for more outrageous bullshit in a day than most men were in
their entire lifetimes.
    The truth of the matter, Shepherd knew full
well, was that managing outrageous bullshit was what he was good
at. Managing outrageous bullshit was what he did for a living.
Sometimes he even wondered if he could do anything else.
    After a moment Charlie started talking again.
“I’ve asked Adnan to pull together the documentation on the Thai
accounts for you. You