Ken Follett - On Wings Of Eagles (1990)

Paul nodded. "And the last thing we want is a postponement."

"Then let's get it over with."

Paul turned to Mrs. Nourbash. "Please tell Mr. Dadgar that neither of us has committed a crime, and neither of us has any knowledge of anyone else committing a crime, so we are confident that no charges will be made against us, and we would like to get this finished up today so that we can go home."

Mrs. Nourbash translated.

Dadgar said he wanted first to interview Paul alone. Bill should come back in an hour.

Bill left.

Bill went up to his office on the seventh floor. He picked up the phone, called Bucharest, and reached Lloyd Briggs. Briggs was Number 3 in the hierarchy after Paul and Bill.

"Dadgar says he has the power to arrest us," Bill told Briggs. "We might need to put up bail. Call the Iranian attorneys and find out what that means."

"Sure," Briggs said. "Where are you?"

"In my office here at the Ministry."

"I'll get back to you."

Bill hung up and waited. The idea of his being arrested was kind of ridiculous--despite the widespread corruption of modem Iran, EDS had never paid bribes to get contracts. But even if bribes had been paid, Bill would not have paid them: his job was to deliver the product, not win the order.

Briggs called back within a few minutes. "You've got nothing to worry about," he said. "Just last week a man accused of murder had his bail set at a million and a half rials."

Bill did a quick calculation: That was twenty thousand dollars. EDS could probably pay that in cash. For some weeks they had been keeping large amounts of cash, both because of the bank strikes and for use during the evacuation. "How much do we have in the office safe?"

"Around seven million rials, plus fifty thousand dollars."

So, Bill thought, even if we are arrested, we'll be able to post bail immediately. "Thanks," he said. "That makes me feel a lot better."

Downstairs, Dadgar had written down Paul's full name, date and place of birth, schools attended, experience in computers, and qualifications; and he had carefully examined the document that officially named Paul as Country Manager for Electronic Data Systems Corporation Iran. Now he asked Paul to give an account of how EDS had secured its contract with the Ministry of Health.

Paul took a deep breath. "First, I would like to point out that I was not working in Iran at the time the contract was negotiated and signed, so I do not have firsthand knowledge of this. However, I will tell you what I understand the procedure to have been."

Mrs. Nourbash translated and Dadgar nodded.

Paul continued, speaking slowly and rather formally to help the translator. "In 1975 an EDS executive, Paul Bucha, learned that the Ministry was looking for a data-processing company experienced in health insurance and social-security work. He came to Tehran, had meetings with Ministry officials, and determined the nature and scale of the work the Ministry wanted done. He was told that the Ministry had already received proposals for the project from Louis Berger and Company, Marsh & McClennan, ISIRAN, and UNI-VAC, and that a fifth proposal was on its way from Cap Gemini Sogeti. He said that EDS was the leading data-processing company in the United States and that our company specialized in exactly this kind of health-care work. He offered the Ministry a free preliminary study. The offer was accepted."

When he paused for translation, Paul noticed, Mrs. Nourbash seemed to say less than he had said; and what Dadgar wrote down was shorter still. He began to speak more slowly and to pause more often. "The Ministry obviously liked EDS's proposals, because they then asked us to perform a detailed study for two hundred thousand dollars. The results of our study were presented in October 1975. The Ministry accepted our proposal and began contract negotiations. By August 1976 the contract was agreed upon."

"Was everything aboveboard?" Dadgar asked through Mrs. Nourbash.

"Absolutely," Paul said. "It took another three months to go through the lengthy process of getting all the necessary approvals from many government departments, including the Shah's court. None of these steps was omitted. The contract went into effect at the end of the year."

"Was the contract price exorbitant?"

"It showed a maximum expected pretax profit of twenty percent, which is in line with other contracts of this magnitude, both here and in other countries."

"And has EDS fulfilled its obligations under the contract?"

This was something on which Paul did have firsthand knowledge. "Yes, we have."

"Could you produce evidence?"

"Certainly. The contract specifies that I should meet with Ministry officials at certain intervals to review progress: those meetings have taken place and the Ministry has the minutes of the meetings on file. The contract lays down a complaints procedure for the Ministry to use if EDS fails to fulfill its obligations: that procedure has never been used."

Mrs. Nourbash translated, but Dadgar did not write anything down. He must know all this anyway, Paul thought.

He added: "Look out the window. There is our data center. Go and see it. There are computers in it. Touch them. They work. They produce information. Read the printouts. They are being used."

Dadgar made a brief note. Paul wondered what he was really after.

The next question was: "What is your relationship with the Mahvi group?"

"When we first came to Iran we were told that we had to have Iranian partners in order to do business here. The Mahvi group are our partners. However, their main role is to supply us with Iranian staff. We meet with them periodically, but they have little to do with the running of our business."

Dadgar asked why Dr. Towliati, a Ministry official, was on the EDS payroll. Was this not a conflict of interest?

Here at last was a question that made sense. Paul could see how Towliati's role could appear irregular. However, it was easily explained. "In our contract we undertake to supply expert consultants to help the Ministry make the best use of the service we provide. Dr. Towliati is such a consultant. He has a data-processing background, and he is familiar with both Iranian and American business methods. He is paid by EDS, rather than by the Ministry, because Ministry salaries are too low to attract a man of his caliber. However, the Ministry is obliged to reimburse us for his salary, as laid down in the contract; so he is not really paid by us."

Once again Dadgar wrote down very little. He could have got all this information from the files, Paul thought; perhaps he has.

Dadgar asked: "But why does Dr. Towliati sign invoices?"

"That's easy," Paul replied. "He does not, and never has. The closest he comes is this: he would inform the Minister that a certain task has been completed, where the specification of that task is too technical for verification by a layman." Paul smiled. "He takes his responsibility to the Ministry very seriously--he is easily our harshest critic, and he will characteristically ask a lot of tough questions before verifying completion of a task. I sometimes wish I did have him in my pocket."

Mrs. Nourbash translated. Paul was thinking: What is Dadgar after? First he asks about the contract negotiations, which happened before my time; then about the Mahvi group and Dr. Towliati, as if they were sensationally important. Maybe Dadgar himself doesn't know what he's looking for--maybe he's just fishing, hoping to come up with evidence of something illegal.

How long can this farce go on?

Bill was outside in the corridor, wearing his topcoat to keep out the cold. Someone had brought him a glass of tea, and he warmed his hands on it while he sipped. The building was dark as well as cold.

Dadgar had immediately struck Bill as being different from the average Iranian. He was cold, gruff, and inhospitable. The Embassy had said Dadgar was "favorably disposed" toward Bill and Paul, but that was not the impression Bill had.