April 2: Down to Earth (22 page)

"If you go down to North America and somebody finds out I helped finance it, you may be confronted with some ugly gossip about me and my family. I just wanted to be straight with you. My family are not exactly model citizens. I swear to you, I have never involved myself in their affairs, but guilt by association is common down there. It even lands you in prison now, if you have family who are terrorists.  Just because my uncles and cousins are bad, doesn't mean I'm tainted, but that's how a lot of folks will view it."

"Well that's stupid and I'd have no trouble telling them that, but you aren't being exactly clear what's so bad about all your kin."

"Not all of them, but a lot of them, are involved in organized crime. They're known as a crime family. Have you ever seen things in old movies about the Mafia? It used to be assumed they were Italian, if not Sicilian. But now people speak of the Russian Mafia and the Japanese Mafia. Even the Chinese Mafia. I guess every culture has their families of crime, but the Italians were the first to be recognized as such by the Americans and the they were kind of adopted as the standard for describing what they are in popular culture. The Mob, La Cosa Nostra. Wise Guys. Made Men. Some call it prejudice, but there was some truth to it. When I go home for Christmas dinner, it looks like the wanted poster gallery on the FBI site. They think it's
funny
I'm a cop. But I make sure I never have to discharge my duty where they operate."

"I sort of assumed that was all period stories. You know - historical. I saw the Godfather and some other vids, but I just assumed it's so hard to do business now, with every transaction being tracked, that it would just be impossible to have that kind of crime. It's not?"

"Honest. The more laws and regulations they make, the more ways there are to cheat and get around them. If you use your credit line to buy drugs or porn, or any other ugly thing, it will show on your statement as a repair to your ground car, or a new pair of shoes. And there are still lots of businesses that will take cash. Food vendors and small shops. The politicians will outlaw all cash transactions when they stop taking bribes."

"If the newsies drop that stuff on me, I'll ask them if they want to be judged on the crappiest member of their family I can find. That should cool their jets."

Eddie smiled. "You haven't asked me where I got all my money."

"I didn't figure it was any of my business."

"I'm going to tell you anyway. I've been thinking about it and I know how the reporters ask horrible prying questions. If you start having any doubts at all about me it will be disastrous to invite them to read your replies with verifying software. So I feel the need to tell you what happened so you'll know."

"Fine, if you think you need to. I can't
promise
I'll never doubt you, but I've trusted you with my life, fighting beside me. I think you're a pretty square shooter. Especially with Russian antitank missiles," she said, reminding him of an ambush they conducted a year ago.

"Well, the way Easy told me the second one would be launched where my proctologist could never reach it if I missed was a real inspiration. Makes you focus. But about the money. I had a friend spoofing my presence on New Las Vegas when I went to help the Singhs, so nobody would know I was on a mission to ISSII. He was to keep a low profile, but he dropped a hundred EuroMark chip in the Big Shot slot and won fifty million EM."

Margaret, who had been silent, started laughing. Eddie just smiled at her. It
was
funny.

"What I would have given to see his face," she said, wiping the tears away.

"And then, when he had hidden in his room to avoid any more publicity, one of my dear uncles paid him a visit and wanted to know where I was. They figured he had bumped me off to take my credit card and he was very worried about his dear nipote."

Margaret just laughed even harder.

"Nipote?" April asked.

"Nephew. So they extracted the major part of the cash from him and delivered it to me while I was still in the middle of rescuing the Singhs. Left a baby-sitter behind with him. That's where I got my seed money. Jan, the head of security on ISSII that you met when you picked us up, really gave me the idea to invest the money with a view to riding the events we were generating. Knowing what would happen ahead of time, to make space based securities run up and down in price made it easy. Then after you pass a certain critical mass, I found it's hard
not
to make more money. It's been crazy."

"So these guys acted for you, just because you are family, even if you're a cop?"

"Blood's thicker than water, as they say."

"You should write a book about it. An autobiography."

Eddie just shook his head no, very seriously. "They watch out for me for now. That's the
big
taboo. You do not, not, not, talk about family. Maybe I could leave it to be published after I die. But I'd be too nervous, even knowing a copy was hidden away somewhere. The family lost a whole generation to electronic snooping at the start of the century and they have adapted real well. I don't want to try to keep secrets from them."

"Well, I believe you. Thanks for explaining. I'll handle it if it comes up. A question then. You are looking to invest away from North America. You probably would welcome a space based investment right?"

"Yes, but opportunities in space investments are very limited right now. There is little expansion going on because North America was doing the lion's share and we knocked their launch capacity right out. The remainder is hard pressed to keep all the inhabited stations supplied right now, without lifting major construction materials too. We're getting hammered with high prices trying to add a ring right now. We aren't going to see much space growth for a couple years," he predicted.

"The Rock will drop bulk material prices, but we still need the infrastructure for everything from fasteners to wire drawing. We have lots of job shop and quick prototype capacity, but not the really cheap dedicated manufacture for bulk stuff. And if we go to war with them again, it will put it off a decade."

April jumped right in and explained Heather's Lunar land development idea. "If you'd help her without taking it over I'd appreciate it. I know you could probably just out spend her and develop your own area and just not need her at all. But you have so much else to do anyway. She has the vision and you will get a decent return for your investment anyway. I just can't see anything but a huge return in the long run. It's like when the Americans went West, except we don't have to steal the land from anyone."

"I'd never do anything like that April. That's exactly what I was talking about. People are going to expect me to do the crooked thing because of my family, but I refuse. They make excuses that things would be worse, without the stability they create. Better organized crime, than anarchy supposedly. They say all the little guys would be having running gun battles in the streets if they didn't control the territories. But it's a lie. That's certainly not their motivation.

"But I'm not talking about anything illegal," April assured him. If you decided to go into the business yourself, it isn't ours to tell you not to."

"I disagree." Eddie said. "It was Heathers idea and she has put time and effort into it. I'd have never looked that direction as far as I know, for a long time. If I took the idea and ran with it now, I wouldn't be doing anything illegal, but it would be
wrong.
We are trying to get away from hollow meaningless laws on Home. I want to see us promote ethical behavior. So I'll talk to her and see how much help she
wants.
At the least I'll buy some lots. If she wants me to come in and help, fine. I'll probably do it if I agree with what you've said."

"Thanks. I was worried, because I'll be away and can't help."

"That brings up another problem I've been avoiding," Eddie said. "I'm building these two new ships. I'm trying to get squared away with your brother to have them operated. I thought we'd have about the same terms as we settled on for the
Home Boy
. But no. I'll be blunt. Your brother is as crooked as any of my relatives. Sooner or later, I'm going to have to find a way to avoid doing business with him. Now, it's you that holds the rights to use Jeff's devices in the ships. Would you consider starting your own freight or courier business and I'll just deal with you? Between my interest in the
Home Boy and
your interest in it and the
Happy Lewis,
we should be able to buy him out."

"That would be pretty hard. Just like you are talking about the lunar thing being Heather's baby, the courier business was Bob's idea. I came in as a junior partner at 49% ownership."

"I'm surprised he allowed you to get that much."

"Well, he tried to satisfy me with 30%," April admitted. "I won't let him cheat me just because I'm family."

"OK, he had the idea. But he was going to make a regular courier service, like about a dozen others that fly under various flags. He just had a conventional scooter. You brought along the license rights to the power plant and weaponry, that made it unique. I see it as your business for that reason. If he wanted to buy you out right now, what would happen?

"He probably couldn't come up with the cash. But if he did he wouldn't be able to keep using Jeff's modules, so he'd have to revert to conventional motors and he'd lose his competitive advantage."

"So you wouldn't license him free," he said, nodding, happy to have that point clear.  "Have the other courier companies
without
Singh tech gone out of business?" Eddie asked her.

"Uh, that's a point. No, they just shifted their business a little lower on the feeding order and we got the more time and security critical work. There still are not enough of us for the market. We are only two ships right now after all."

"And what would happen if you bought him out?"

"
I
don't have the cash. But if I did nothing much would change."

"So if you owned it, would you keep him on as manager given the choice?"

"No. I don't know who I'd get. But I don't have an interest in the details of business, to want to run it myself. I do know he and I have a different
styles,
so he'd go. He has other businesses he can pursue and he always could think of three new ones on any given day."

"I've been trying to finalize a contract with him, to run my new shuttles. Do you have a document that describes your ownership and Heather's ownership, in Jeff's company?"

"Yeah. I didn't know that you knew, that's what we had set up. Maybe a dozen people do."

"More than that. You'd be surprised. But how many pages is the document?"

"It's about a three letter size pages. Not too complicated."

"Here, I want you to look at the last contract I was offered from your brother. This is the one we've been stuck on, for over a week, because I won't sign it and he won't revise it." He offered his pad to beam it over. She received it and glanced at the properties. It was over three hundred pages long.

"I don't even have time to read this," she said indignant. "Why in the world is it that big?"

"Because he is doing business now like Earthies. He had it drafted by lawyers and I doubt if he has read it himself. It basically says if any money is made it's his. And if any expenses occur they're mine. I assume all risk to third parties, for the actions of his employees on my vessels. That's the high points. But I can't do business like that. I don't have time to read it either and I won't have some lawyer read it and tell me what he thinks it says. Basically it tells me by its nature, that if we ever have a problem to work out I can't expect him to treat me right. It's a license to try to weasel out of any responsibility."

"This is horrible. I had no idea. I want to look through this tonight. I don't have time to read it word for word, but if I can just satisfy myself what it's about I will talk to Bob and explain I can't be party to doing business this way."

"Don't be shocked if he's unyielding. That's how he's been with me. Frankly, if you don't let him do things his way I think he'll
tell
you to buy him out, if you want to run it different."

"If he did it would just be sarcasm, because he knows neither of us has the cash to buy the other out. I mean – I have the money you guys gave me to go Earthside, but that would be wrong to use a chunk of it for that. You didn't have that use in mind when you gave it and it would be wrong to misuse it."

"So how easy ethics are for decent people? But I'm offering you the cash right now."

"On what terms?" April said, shocked. She had no idea this was where they were headed. "I don't know what kind of payments I can manage for sure. Or do you want to come in as a partner yourself?"

"It doesn't matter. I'd accept any terms you wanted to offer, because I need the new ships ran and I'd have to walk away from them and scrap them out, rather than deal with your brother. And I'd do that for spite rather than sell them. I'm convinced I'll lose all control of them later anyway, if I have to deal with him. He's setting me up to rip me off."

"I'm looking at how we have to do business now, with life extension and we're going to need long term stable relationships, with give and take. If you wanted to give me
any
percentage of the company for the cash, I'd
still
be ahead of walking away and abandoning the whole thing, no matter what I got. Name your own terms. How much do you need to buy him out?"

April thought about it. "Ignoring my licenses, we have about a million and a half each in the scooter which was a scrap out. And refitting it. We got over a half million from Jon's rainy day fund, to finish it out and accelerate refitting, so he could use it to recover Dr. Singh. I am not obligated to repay that, but I intend to. That's over three million USNA dollars right at the start."

"We've spent maybe another three million out of revenues, to modernize and upgrade over the last year. We plowed a lot back in to it, rather than cash out. The company has some value because of the customers and contracts also, but he'd lose some of them if he loses the Singh technology and can't boost as fast and cheap. All together, I'd say his fifty-five percent is worth no more than about four million,
without
the licensing rights. It's not that I'd never share them. It's always been that Jeff offered them to me alone as an individual and was careful never to offer them to the company."