Yuen-Mong's Revenge (55 page)

     
"Good morning, Miss Shen. I hope that this will not take long. I have
an important meeting coming up."

 
     
"That depends largely on you. A rather unpleasant thing has happened. But first, I would like to hear from you what you would do if you
discovered that one of your subordinates had planted a listening device
in your office, tapped your desk comunit, and recorded all conversations?" As she spoke, she sensed a rise in agitation.
Did he order his son
to do it?

     
"What is this? Why are you asking me this question?"

 
     
"Because this has happened."

 
     
"Somebody planted a listening device in my office? Where?" He got
up.

     
"Please, Mr. Deng, take a seat again. Everything is under control. The
culprit has been found. What would you do with him?"

 
     
"He should be sacked right away and escorted out of the building."

 
     
"Thank you. That is what I was just forced to do to your son, Cor."

 
     
"What? … He did this to my office?"

 
     
"Not your office. Mr. Caruna’s office and his and my comunit."

 
     
"But you said —"

 
     
"I did not say he did this to your office. I asked you a hypothetical
question."

 
     
"But you cannot do this, not to my son."

 
     
"Mr. Deng, why should your son be treated any differently?"

 
     
"There must be a mistake. He would not do such a foolish thing."

 
     
"Unfortunately, he did. The proof sits on his desk and the comunit
systems technician who installed the taps under orders from your son has
confessed. Mr. Deng, let me assure you that I did not enjoy having to do
this to your son. However, I’m sure you understand that if I had allowed
this to be hushed up, I would have lost all respect from the people whose
respect I value. Something like this is bound to come out rather quickly.
Do you wish to see the proofs?"

 
     
"No, but I insist that you call an executive meeting today. This needs
to be discussed there and a proper decision taken."

 
     
She ignored the reference to ‘proper’ and replied: "Since you agreed
with me that such an act should lead to instant dismissal, I see no reason
for this." She got up. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Deng. I have already
requested that personnel submit files of potential candidates to the
position of director of HST research and will circulate them to the
executive group in due course."

 
     
"Miss Shen, the matter of my son is not finished."

 
     
"It is for me, Mr. Deng, and I won’t hold you up any longer, since you
have an important meeting." She walked around her desk, sat again, and
started reading a report.

     
He stared at her in outrage for several seconds. "Young woman, this
—"

 
     
She armed herself for the showdown, locked eyes with him, and
interrupted him sharply: "Mr. Deng, there is nothing further to discuss."

 
     
For a moment she thought he was going to attack her, but he turned
abruptly and left the office, leaving the door wide open. It was promptly
closed by her secretary.

     
Only then did she notice that the door to Atun’s office had been a
crack open and she felt Atun’s mind, his pride. "Come in, Atun."

 
     
The door was pushed open and he entered. She got up and ran to him.
"Hold me, hold me," she whispered and allowed herself to let go and be
comforted in his arms.

     
"How could you remain so calm and in control?"

 
     
She raised her face. "Because this is the only way to control the
savages. Show them that you are in complete control."

 
     
"Oh, Yuen-mong, be serious."

 
     
"But I am, Atun. They are nothing but savages." She disengaged herself. "And now it’s Ko Young’s turn."

 
     
"Are you up to it? I’ve some news for you… Jack Hart got 40,000
credits, but not from Pat. It came from a trust account that I could trace
back to Twan Associates."

 
     
"That doesn’t exonerate Pat."

 
     
"I know. It means that Pat and Syd are both involved."

 
     
"
I will
deal with Pat when I go to Ko Young. Syd will have to wait a
bit longer. Think of me, love."

 
     
As she walked out of the office, she told her secretary that she would
be back in fifteen to twenty minutes. She went straight to Ko Young’s
secretary who to her surprise said: "Miss Shen, go right in. Mr. Young is
waiting for you."

 
     
For a fraction of a second she was thrown, but then remembered that
her last conversation with Atun about either being respected or feared
had still been recorded by Ko Young’s equipment before they deactivated
the listening chips.

     
"Yuen-mong, take a seat," he said, as she entered. "I was expecting
you."

 
     
His mind reflected the usual confusion and a sense of resignation, as
if he were waiting to be sentenced. Rather than confront him, she decided
to change tack. "Uncle, tell me what was your dream when you were a
teenager and a young man?"

 
     
"What a strange question."

 
     
"Are you willing to share that with me, uncle?"

 
     
He pondered this for a while and then said: "I dreamed to become a
great painter. I was even offered a one-year scholarship at the Androma
Academy of Arts."

 
     
"And did you go there?"

 
     
"Yes." His eyes lit up.

     
"Was it a good time of your life?"

 
     
"I cannot make you out. Why do you want to know that?"

 
     
"
I will
tell you later. Was it good? Were you happy there?"

 
     
"Yes. I was. I think that was the happiest time of my life."

 
     
"I admired your charcoal drawings, particularly the one of Mai."

 
     
"You saw them? … Yes the one of Mai I think is one of my best."

 
     
"Why don’t you take it up again?"

 
     
"You ask me? Because I’m a Young and bound to this firm."

 
     
"No, you’re not. You have a choice. Grandfather only has power over
you if you let him have it."

 
     
"These are strong words. I thought you honored your grandfather."

 
     
"I do, but he also knows that he cannot rule me, and he has accepted
it. Uncle, is there any reason why you have to continue a work that you
do not enjoy, rather than pursue the passion you denied yourself for
almost thirty years."

 
     
"Sometimes, I wish I could."

 
     
"Why do you think you
cannot
? … Because you owe too much money
for the shares you bought from me?"

 
     
"Yes, you tricked me."

 
     
"I have the power to untrick you," she said smiling. "UniCom can
guarantee the loan and you pay it off from the dividends."

 
     
"But will there be dividends?"

 
     
"There will. There still needs to be a lot of research done before
instantcom replaces HST and then its profit will keep UniCom healthy."

 
     
"You are always a step ahead of me, aren’t you? I have misjudged you
from the first moment I saw you."

 
     
"Only you can answer this… Uncle, will you now give me an answer
to my question? Why won’t you pursue your passion and be happy while
you paint? You want me to tell grandfather?"

 
     
He remained quiet for a while. "No, I will tell him myself."

 
     
"Does that mean that you resign from your duties at UniCom?"

 
     
"Do I really have a choice?"

 
     
"One always has a choice, one may just not like the consequences."

 
     
He nodded.

     
"I still would like that I can come to you for advice and that you make
yourself available to look over the shoulder of the person I may appoint
to your position."

 
     
A hint of a smile lit up his eyes. "You can count on that. I guess it
should go to one of the young Deng people, possibly Cor."

 
     
"Under my leadership, the position will go to the most capable person.
There will be no favoritism. And Cor is no longer on our staff. I dismissed him this morning."

 
     
He looked at her alarmed. "Why?"

 
     
"He tapped Atun’s and my comunits and placed a listening device in
Atun’s office." She could not quite suppress an amused smile at the
irony.

     
"Was that not rather precipitous? Xi Deng will not accept it."

 
     
"When a decision is right, there is no point to delay it, and Xi Deng
has no choice but to accept it." She briefly paused. "Uncle, unfortunately,
I have another thing that I’m afraid will hurt you."

 
     
"I know, you suspect that Pat is behind the crash of the shuttle."

 
     
"It
is
not suspicion any longer. I have proof that points the finger
firmly at him, but I don’t want a scandal or involve the police. It would
be best for everybody if he resigned, and it would be less humiliating for
him, if you told him to do it rather than I or grandfather. You don’t have
to tell him that this request comes from me."

 
     
"Why do you spare him when you were so ruthless with Cor?"

 
     
"Somebody had to be made an example of, and Cor is arrogant and
cunning. Pat was dragged into this and fell victim to his hatred for me."

 
     
"Dragged into it? By whom?"

 
     
"I won’t answer that question… Please, talk to Pat. Make him see that
this is the best for him and the Young family. There must be plenty of
positions in the Foundation for a young man of one of the most respectable families."

 
     
"I will try." He seemed to hesitate.

     
"You want to ask me something."

 
     
"Yuen-mong, I heard you say that ‘they will either respect me or fear
me, like the savages did on Aros.’ What did you mean by that?"

 
     
"The savages on Aros tried to capture me while I was still a child, to
subdue and abuse me. The only way to stop them was to make them fear
me."

 
     
"And how did you make them fear you?"

 
     
"By killing their leaders whenever they tried."

 
     
"You just got your first few here," he said bitterly.

     
"Uncle, you are not fair to me. I did not kill you, not even figuratively
speaking. I offered you choices."