Laurence O’Bryan - The Manhattan Puzzle

Neither man responded.

‘You know our fund has larger goals than simply making a profit.’

The head of trading, who wore a black suit and a blue knotted silk tie, nodded curtly. The other man stared at Lord Bidoner, then spoke.

‘Isn’t profit what our shareholders want?’

‘And we will make a profit from all this,’ said Lord Bidoner. He walked closer to the two men. ‘A serious profit. And we will need it. There are scum out there who threaten us all. There is a change coming and you can be part of it.’

The head of risk, who had spoken, pressed his lips together and nodded.

‘Soon, gentlemen, we will know who will be the new slaves and who will be free in this world. You may think I overstate it, but when you see people lining up everywhere outside banks that have stolen their money, you will know I wasn’t lying.’ Lord Bidoner pointed at the two men, first one then the other.

‘Many things must be destroyed before they can be reborn. And you will have a role in this, if you follow my instructions to the letter. With no deviation. Is that clear?’

The head of risk spoke. ‘What exactly do you want us to do?’

‘You will spend every dime we have on BXH’s shares and options. And then you will start selling it all at a loss, until the price dives, because there is so much of BXH on sale.’

‘We could be ruined in a day, sir,’ said the head of risk.

‘That’s not your problem, gentlemen. Those are your instructions.’

The two men looked at each other. Both were pale under their perma-tans.

‘Are you sure you want to do this, sir? This is a major gamble,’ said the head of risk.

Lord Bidoner walked to where Xena was standing and whispered something in her ear. She went out of the room.

‘Gentlemen, consider this,’ said Lord Bidoner, coming up to the two men. ‘My friend is very strict when it comes to relationships. She was raised differently from us. An eye for an eye is what she believes in.’ He leaned towards the men. ‘It was said in her village that she wore a cloak of darkness after what happened to her family.’

He stepped aside to let her pass him. She was carrying a newspaper.

‘Would you like to see what happened to one of the other bankers I worked with, gentlemen? It was such a shock I kept the article.’

The two men just stared at him. Then the head of risk nodded.

Xena dropped the paper on the glass table. The newspaper was the Times of India . The main article was accompanied by a picture of a stretcher being carried out of an office building. People were milling around and whoever was on the metal stretcher was clearly dead, as they were in a fully zipped up body bag.

The headline read – CASTRATED BANKER DIES.

‘This was a few years ago, but it was a sad day for the man’s family, I can tell you. To die in such a way is dishonourable in India. It implies so much. But I am sure it was a lot more painful for him.’ Lord Bidoner picked up the newspaper and passed it back to Xena. She left the room with it.

‘This man didn’t believe my warnings. I hope that doesn’t happen with you two.’

The two men shook their heads.

‘I want you to understand where I’m coming from. There will be no turning back on my directive and there will be no discussion of what happened in this room after you leave here. Is that clear?’

The head of risk nodded first.

‘Yes, sir. You don’t have to worry. We will carry out your instructions to the letter.’

They walked slowly to the door and exited without saying another word. Lord Bidoner was already on his phone, as the front door of the apartment closed behind them.

Red, he typed into the email. Then he sent it.

Rose Suchard was sitting at a back table in the otherwise almost empty In Italy restaurant at the bottom of their street when Isabel and Alek got there.

In Italy was one of those new places with all white wooden tables and chairs. On the long side wall there was a giant map of a futuristic subway system made up of multicoloured dots. The restaurant attracted a young crowd who enjoyed the real Italian coffee, great pasta dishes and the atmosphere. Sean and Isabel went there regularly. It was one of the reasons she loved the area.

A waiter was flirting with Rose when they arrived.

Carlo, his name badge said, turned and smiled at Isabel as she sat down.

‘And for you, signora?’ he asked, as his smile said, you also look fantastic. The black wool sweater and midnight blue jeans she’d put on was her basic outfit these days. It was nice to be complimented, but she really didn’t need it.

‘A late breakfast, maybe?’

But Isabel wasn’t hungry. She ordered a latte and an orange juice for Alek. He was wiggling on the chair to her right. She took off his jacket.

Once he was settled she turned to Rose.

‘Sean didn’t come home last night,’ she whispered, leaning close to her, so Alek wouldn’t hear.

‘The bastard,’ Rose hissed back. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Not really, I still don’t know where he is.’ She put her hand to her forehead. Rose tutted.

‘If I’m arrested for killing him, don’t be surprised.’ She looked out the window, hoping to see his car going by.

‘I’ll stand by you,’ said Rose. ‘Did you see the news?’ She leaned even closer to Isabel. Alek was caught up with galloping an armoured knight across a corner of the table.

‘What news?’

‘About BXH,’ she whispered. She had an are-you-still-with-us look on her face.

She was scaring Isabel now. ‘You know I’ve sworn off TV in the morning.’

All the endless bad TV news was like an infection. She’d decided to keep it all out until the evening each day, when Sean brought enough of it home for both of them.

‘They were going on about the merger,’ said Rose. ‘Apparently BXH’s share price should be going up, but it’s not, it’s collapsing. You know what Terry said?’ Her voice dropped to a whisper.

Isabel shook her head, slowly.

‘He said if the merger doesn’t happen, BXH will collapse in on itself, like a black hole or something. They’ve been hiding …’ She leaned towards Isabel. Her voice went even lower.

‘Something big, he reckons.’ She glanced around, as if they were in a conspiracy movie.

‘I don’t like the sound of that.’

‘Me neither.’ Rose looked genuinely worried.

‘Sean said if the merger fell through, BXH would still be okay,’ she said.

‘Sure, but where is he?’

She opened her mouth, looked at Alek, closed it again. She felt like cursing Sean and BXH, but she couldn’t, not in front of Alek.

‘You know …’ said Rose. She looked sad. Her mouth opened. Her eyes were brimming. ‘It’s …’

Rose was crying. Big tears were running down her nose. Sympathy flared inside Isabel. Her problems suddenly seemed minor. Rose was usually so upbeat. When the western world had been about to melt down, she’d invited them around for a party.

‘We’re going … we’re going to lose our home,’ said Rose.

‘No way.’ Isabel glanced at Alek. He hadn’t noticed anything.

‘What happened?’ she said.

‘Terry’s overtime’s been cut. They’re cutting loads in IT. We borrowed so much to get this house. We’re going to lose it all. I just know it.’

Isabel squeezed her arm. Rose smiled at her and straightened herself up. It was the smile of someone determined not to let anyone else down.

‘Maybe it’ll be for the better,’ she said. ‘We don’t need such a big house.’ She sniffed and tried to compose herself. ‘Terry took out another loan. He didn’t even tell me.’ There was a wounded, shocked look in her eyes.