Philip Kerr - False Nine

‘Yes. Everything. Which is a lot more than I told my friends at FCB. And I owe them in a way I don’t owe you. Which reminds me. I’ve decided to waive my bonus. The finder’s fee that your Qatari friend offered if I found the boy.’

‘Why? As I recall you are entitled to a reduced fee. A million euros. So why not take it? You’ve earned it. You’ve done what we asked.’

‘Because I’ve been well paid for what I’ve done. And because I don’t like to profit from someone else’s loss.’

‘Isn’t that the nature of capitalism?’

‘Perhaps. But there are some varieties of loss when capitalism must stand quietly in its technical area with its hands in its pockets, just watching the game. And this is one of those.’

‘I thought he was the lefty, not you.’

‘He is. I’m not. And after what the Labour Party said about the Premier League and its television deal I’m never voting for them again. I’m just trying to do what’s right here and, in my opinion, that’s something which has no politics. This now brings me to the reasons I think you ought to give to the press when you do sack him. And this is very important, Charles. Not just for you. But for Jérôme Dumas.’

‘And why should I give a shit about him, Scott? The bastard made a fool of us.’

‘He’ll never ever play football again at the highest level. On account of a serious medical condition he’ll have to live with for the rest of his life. That’s why. Very likely he will continue to live a perfectly normal, active life. But as we both know, medical actuaries deal in numbers, not in people. And to be fair to them there is always the possibility that all of this might become a much larger problem.’ I let that sink in for a moment and then added: ‘Besides, he’s just a kid. Like most kids he thinks he’ll live forever. Frankly, it’s the sort of thing any young player would do in order to keep playing. The sort of thing I’d have done myself, if I’d been in his boots. When people are desperate to escape grinding poverty, this is what they do. Think how that will play in a newspaper like Libération .’

‘When you put it like that...’ said Rivel.

‘Charles, if you saw what he’d come from — on the island of Guadeloupe, I mean. It’s a dump. But it’s a dump that’s full of beautiful people. Most of whom haven’t got much money and are starved of opportunities to better themselves. Honestly, if you knew where he’s been giving some of his money — local schools and hospitals — you’d realise that he deserves to have some kind of a future. Preferably in football.’

‘I thought you said he’d never play football again.’

‘No, I said he’d never play again at the highest level.’

‘Oh, you mean he can play in another league. Actually, Scott, I can’t honestly see how that’s going to work out either. Unless you allow the twins to practise the same deception on another club. Which can’t happen.’

‘You let me worry about that.’

‘For legal reasons PSG would certainly want an undertaking that the Dumas twins never pull this kind of stunt again.’

‘And you’ll certainly have that. I guarantee it. And they won’t be pulling any kind of stunts again. At least not of a medical kind. Look, all I need PSG to do is to sack him, like I said. I think you should sack him for misconduct. Specifically because of the political comments he’s made to the press which you regard to be incompatible with his employment at PSG. Specifically the interview he gave to Libération . Take him at his own word. He’s a communist who advocates Maoist revolution, isn’t he? How does that play with your team owners? The last thing they want in Qatar is a revolution. Of course, everyone will think there’s a lot more to it than that. And then maybe you can get your PR people to hint that he was involved with some bad boys in the banlieues . Which he was. Of course, in the long run, none of this will do Jérôme’s reputation any harm at all. Much better to be sacked for being a bad boy than for having a hole in the heart. In fact, I rather think the Maoism might even go down well with his new employers.’

‘What do you mean, his new employers? We haven’t even sacked him yet.’

‘But you will sack him. Because you have to. Because he can’t play for you any more. Like I said, your insurers won’t let him.’

‘For Christ’s sake, Scott. Why do I get the feeling I’m being bounced into something? And who are his new employers? It’s not London City, is it?’

‘No, it’s definitely not London City. In view of what’s happened you can be absolutely sure about that.’

‘Yes, I saw the news.’

‘No, it’s someone else, Charles. And I spoke to them an hour ago. Before I came down here to have breakfast with you.’

‘So, who?’

‘I’ll tell you. And I can safely say that provide you agree to everything I’ve told you just now, then I’ve solved all of your problems, Charles. And Jérôme’s. Not to mention one small problem of my own.’

Skype. To my mind it’s not the fact that calls are free that they should be selling, it’s the fact that they’re calls you see . Somehow, when you’re doing an important business deal, you need more than just a voice assuring you that everything will be as promised. You need to see a face. That’s what it means to stay in touch. Almost. The day you can seal a deal on Skype with a virtual handshake will be the day that Skype is actually worth the 8.5 billion dollars that Microsoft paid for it back in 2011. Of course, ‘face’ — miàn zi — is very important to the Chinese, especially in business, and it means a lot more than respect and knowing one’s place. It’s about courtesy and trust and the recognition that the time of someone as rich as Jack Kong Jia is valuable and that he could always do business with someone else.

‘Thank you for taking my call, Mr Kong Jia. I know you’re a very busy man.’

He was seated in a room that was almost all white and in stark contrast to the black sky and neon lights of Shanghai I could see through the window behind him. His tattooed arm was heavy with bracelets and charms. Around his neck was a shark’s tooth, which was enough to remind me that the man might be dangerous. It’s a rare billionaire who doesn’t have some extra teeth.

‘And thank you for your kind gift, Mr Manson. How did you know that I am so very fond of movie posters?’

‘Sir, it’s in an article about you in Forbes magazine.’

‘Yes, but it was clever of you to know that I like James Bond movie posters best of all. And that the UK Dr No poster was one I did not yet have.’

‘I noticed that you’d invested in the last Bond movie, sir. It was on the film’s credits. Therefore I assumed you might be a fan, like me. I’m afraid it was just good luck that I chose that particular one. Although since it is particularly rare it was perhaps a reasonable assumption that you might not have it.’

Rare and also expensive. The poster had cost me £5,000. That was the upfront cost of doing business with Jack Kong Jia.

‘I’m glad you called, Mr Manson. I’ve been thinking about you. Especially in view of what’s happened today.’

‘What’s happened?’

‘You haven’t seen the news?’

‘I’m in Paris, sir. I haven’t been paying much attention to the news. And it’s still pretty early here.’

‘Viktor Sokolnikov has been found dead at his estate in Kent. It looks as if he was murdered by the Kremlin.’

‘Oh. I see. No, I didn’t know. Jesus.’

A hundred thoughts crowded into my mind for a second; thoughts about Viktor and our time together at London City; concern for his family; and a question mark about the stewardship of an important football club. What was going to happen to the team that João Zarco and I had helped nurture?