Стюарт Вудс - Wild Card

Stone, Dino, and Viv were at Brasserie Georgette, having just arrived.

“You’d better double the guard on the Grants,” Stone said. “Jamie’s story runs tomorrow in the Times .”

“I have already done so,” Dino replied.

“I’ll double Jamie’s guard, too,” Viv said, reaching for her phone and making the call.

Stone’s phone rang. “Hello?”

“It’s Jamie.”

“Viv, Dino, and I were just talking about you. All of it good.”

“I’m delighted, but I have new news.”

Stone looked around; nobody was too close. “I’ll put you on speaker, to save me having to repeat it to Viv and Dino.”

“Okay, ready?”

Stone pressed the button. “Ready.”

“A reporter on our business page got a hot tip a few minutes ago. A preliminary agreement has been signed between H. Thomas & Son and DigiWorld, a hedge fund specializing in bank acquisitions.”

“Who’s buying whom?” Stone asked.

“DigiWorld is the buyer, at $46.50 a share, twenty-five percent over the stock price at closing.”

“So the Thomases are getting richer,” Stone said.

“The two remaining Thomases and a family member named Lawrance Damien own a majority of the shares.”

“Well, your breaking story is going to put the fear of God into them, isn’t it?”

“I can’t imagine that it won’t torpedo the acquisition, or at least lower the price significantly.”

“It couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch,” Dino said.

“By the way,” Viv chimed in, “I’ve already doubled your security. You’ll have two outside men as well as the two inside women.”

“Do you really think that’s necessary, Viv?”

“It can’t hurt,” Viv replied.

“No, I guess it can’t,” Jamie agreed. “Well, I have some calls to make. Enjoy whatever dinner you’re having wherever.” She hung up.

“Well,” Stone said, “if either of you has any H. Thomas shares, you’d better unload them on the foreign markets before bedtime.”

“None here,” Dino said.

“None here, either,” Viv echoed.

“Have you got people on Huey, our computer whiz?” Stone asked Viv.

“Yes, and I’d better double that, too. I think Huey should know, too,” Viv said.

Stone dialed the number.

“Huey here.”

“Hi, Huey, it’s Stone Barrington.”

“Hey, Stone. You should see my new place. It’s coming right along.”

“Huey, have you been contemplating a vacation lately?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“Because this would be a good time to contemplate one. Two major stories about the Thomases are breaking tomorrow morning, and they are going to be very upset when they read them.”

“Then they’ll think I’m in my old place, not here,” Huey said. “I’ll lock the door.”

“It’s better if you assume they know exactly where you are.”

“I’m staying right here,” Huey said. “The cabinet work is being installed in the kitchen and the library tomorrow morning, and I have to be here for that.”

“Well, you should know that Viv has doubled the security on your place.”

“What security?”

“The security you didn’t know about.”

“Why didn’t I know about it?”

“Because we thought you might object.”

“I do object,” Huey replied.

“To the first security or the doubling?”

“All of it.”

“Well, that’s tough because it’s not going away. If you live through the next few days, then we can talk about it.”

“ If I live through the next few days?”

“Well, there’s always the chance that the opposition might sneak through your defenses — if you insist on staying where you are.”

“Where can I buy a gun at this hour?” Huey asked.

“You can’t, but the people guarding your place will be armed. If you hear gunfire, hit the floor and tell the cabinetmakers to hit the floor, too. Good night, Huey. Get somebody to deliver a Times to you tomorrow morning; don’t go out.” Stone hung up.

“Huey protests,” Stone said to Viv and Dino.

Their dinner arrived, and they set about dismantling roasted chicken.

Henry Thomas rose at four AM, as was his wont, put on the coffee and made toast, and opened his front door to collect his daily newspaper. He was anxious to see what the Times had to say about the acquisition of H. Thomas & Son.

Before he could go to the business section, he caught a glimpse of the lower right-hand corner of the newspaper.

Secretary Roils the Waters at H. Thomas & Son

What secretary? he thought. It took a sip of his strong Italian coffee to snap his mind in place. Elise, who speaks Sicilian! He read the opening paragraphs of the story, which ascribed the planned murders of several people to himself, his grandson, and his cousin. The girl went to the papers! He checked the byline on the piece: Jamie Cox. The same reporter who had caused them all the trouble in the past! He called Hank and Rance and told them to go to the office immediately, and to read the Times on the way.

Before he got dressed he saw the other headline on the first page of the business section: H. Thomas to be acquired by DigiWorld. He didn’t have time to read the piece; he got dressed and went downstairs to his waiting car.

It was a grim meeting. “This has happened at the worst possible time,” Henry said.

“Perhaps it has happened at the best possible time,” Rance said.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Henry demanded.

“At the opening bell on Monday, the stock exchange will suspend trading in our stock because of the acquisition. That gives us two days to fix this.”

Hank spoke up. “Fix it? How the fuck do we do that?”

“The first thing we do is to issue a very strong statement refuting the front-page story, and e-mail it to Harman Wills at DigiWorld. It should be the first thing he sees this morning. Also, one of you has to call him and talk him down.”

“Poppa,” Hank said, “that should be you. This acquisition is your doing, and you know Harman best.”

“All right,” Henry said, looking at his watch. “I’ll wait until seven, then call him at home. Rance, you draft a statement for us.”

Rance went to his office, typed fast for a few minutes, and returned with a sheet of paper.

To our shareholders, customers, and business associates:

An outrageous story has appeared in today’s New York Times , calling into question the character and reputation of H. Thomas & Son. This story and all of its contentions are outright lies. The young woman in question, a previously trusted employee, clearly harbors a grudge against the company, following an injury to another previous employee, of which we were unaware until this morning.

The three H. Thomas executives mentioned, Henry Thomas, Hank Thomas, and Lawrance Damien, have been accused of plotting the murders of a number of people, while speaking in a Sicilian language that none of them speaks or understands. As far as we know, all the putative victims are alive and in good health.

Her story is a preposterous fabrication by a clearly disgruntled employee, who did not appear for work yesterday but later sent an e-mail, resigning her position. We suspect that her actions may be connected to the planned acquisition of H. Thomas & Son by DigiWorld, a fund specializing in bank acquisitions. The two companies have been in discussions for weeks and plan to announce it today. Apparently, she hopes to somehow stop or damage the acquisition, which has already been agreed to with a signing memo between the two parties. This seems to be an attempt to enable short sellers, who could reap large profits, should the story be believed.