The Devil's Playground Read online

National Agency selects as their joint venture partners."

  "You mean weapons sales," Young offered with disgust in his voice, conveniently ignoring the fact that the U.S. represented forty-four percent of worldwide sales of arms.

  Rob nodded.

  "So what is he offering the U.S, apart from a nuclear reactor contract that we pay for?" Young asked.

  "His support for the Russia-Japan pipeline through the two Koreas. Then once the reunification is announced, the proactive support of the awarding of construction contracts to American companies through the joint venture partners of the National Agency. He will also offer," Rob paused for a second, because he fully understood the significance of O's offer, "No objections to the appointment of a U.S. reseller agent in the South on condition that the transit commission that the pipeline generates is spent on the rebuilding the North's industrial complex." He still could not quite believe his friend had been so open with him.

  "Wow," exclaimed Navjot, who like Rob understood just what that offer represented.

  "That said?he went to great pains to clarify to me that he will need to ensure that the National Agency contracts are also offered to partners from China, Russia, and Korea," Rob continued, pulling up a new slide on his PowerPoint presentation.

  "But here's the best bit," he said, setting up his coup-de-grace. "In exchange for the U.S. support at the Six Party talks, NIGHTSHADE will not oppose the ongoing deployment of U.S. troops on Korean soil."

  "Pardon!" Young asked, not quite believing what Ashley just said.

  "He told me that although the Chinese and Russians will pressure him to do so," said Rob not missing a beat, "He believes that a United Korea's best interests would be best served by U.S. armed forces remaining on its soil."

  "How in the hell is he going to sell that to his warlords?" asked Navjot doubtfully.

  "Internally, that the U.S. is acting as a buffer against Japanese aggression and by engaging on a trust-building policy. Finally those who do not fall into line will be retired. Externally-that the U.S. military is worth billions to the combined economy!"

  "What about the 500,000 standing army NIGHTSHADE has?" Ali Mansoor asked.

  "He will place them under the command of a United Korean military armed forces the day the reunification document is signed," Rob replied. "But before that happens he intends to have eighty percent of the military personnel re-assigned to new roles within the new National Agency, to do things like road construction, build more dams, assist in crop planting, removal of landmines, etc. That said he's readily admitted to me this is the hardest part of the Humble Servant plan, as the whole mantra of the North has always been 'Military First.' Girls for example won't consider a man for marriage unless he has served in the military, so he expects a lot of kick back on this. His plan is to soften the blow by putting money in their pockets. In order to do this he intends to make sure at the reunification talks that the first ten years of the revenues that are derived from the National Agency will be spent purely on the North's infrastructure rather than on the South's."

  "Wow," exclaimed Navjot again whilst shaking his head because he couldn't quite believe that Rob's friend was offering to technically end world's longest conflict.

  Rob smiled.

  Finished with his notes Young put down his pen again.

  "Okay Robin, what the timeline for this," Young asked, using Rob's first name, something he never did, apart when speaking to Director Level Section Chiefs. It surprised everybody around the table, not just Rob.

  "NIGHTSHADE plans to submit this in a letter addressed to Potus via their Ambassador at the UN to ours once the National Agency has selected the first six joint venture partners in six weeks' time."

  "Six weeks!" Young exclaimed in shock.

  "Sir," Rob said, sensing it was time to put forward his plan to protect his new country's best interests. "I think I know whom we can use as our conduit. And quite frankly though I admit it may be perceived as controversial by everybody around this table, he might just be able," Rob paused for effect, "To kill two birds with one stone for us and maybe several more for us as well at the same time." He stated cryptically as he looked around the room before he went on to explain what his proposal was.

  By the time he finished, thirty minutes later, the Director looked at him and smiled. It was something he rarely did.

  "Approved, Robin." The chess player in him was enjoying the prospect of pulling one over not just the SECSTATE but also the ARCTIC TIGER, the codename for Putin.?"I will brief the NSC," he said.

  7

  Washington

  The call from the White House asking him, Jack Fielding, a former U.S. Ambassador and current board director of TLH Group and his employer, Sir Thomas Litchfield, to attend a meeting with the President and his new Special Adviser on Energy, a man called Eric Lambert, had surprised him. Three days later, by the time the President had finished briefing both Litchfield and him as to why that emotion had turned from one of surprise to shock.

  "Mr. President," Thomas said. Jack noted he looked tired as a result, no doubt of his overnight flight from Moscow.

  "I have to admit, what you're asking me to do doesn't leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling, despite your passionate and noble outline," Thomas continued. "Due to the fact of what my company has experienced in the past with the regime. The last time, in 2011, we thought a deal had been made under the direction of the former President of Russia, only to see it collapse at the last minute because the Koreans demanded a transit fee of 200 percent above the norm! It cost us a million in fees and got us absolutely nowhere."

  "Sir Thomas, I understand your reluctance," interjected the President. "My Administration and many of my predecessors have faced the same problems your organization has in the past. Yet despite that, I believe that the North now has a leader who is prepared to be reasonable. But his plan will only succeed if the interests of all the six parties that surround them are taken into account."

  Jack listened to his President's vision carefully. It was a grand plan, yet the former Ambassador knew the man was fighting an uphill battle in his desire to get Thomas to come onboard as a commercial sponsor.

  Ever since Thomas had lost the woman he loved in that tragic slaughter at his daughter's school in Somerset, England and then taken a financial hit, costing him US$3 billion on behalf of the interests of world peace by essentially underwriting U.S. interests in Adwalland, Jack knew full well that his friend had lost interest in the day-to-day elements of his business empire. Instead the Oligarch had focused completely on bringing up his daughter in an environment where he felt he could guarantee her safety in Moscow while leaving the empire to be run by his CEO, Saul Berkovic, and the various collections of board directors like himself.

  The only reason he was even at this meeting was because Jack suggested to him that if he turned down the invitation, TLH, new gas export permits the company had applied for in Louisiana, might be held up until the third quarter of this year if he didn't. It was very obvious to Jack as to why the President needed TLH.

  The North Korean Peace Plan needed to take into account all the interests of those who surrounded the country yet despite that the former Statesman doubted whether Thomas would act as a proxy for U.S. interests on this occasion.

  For if he were to do so, it would risk the wrath of his Krysha, a term that Russians used to describe a godfather in business. In his friend's case, his Krysha was otherwise known as President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of The Russian Federation.

  "I understand the North can't be seen to openly supporting U.S. interests," Thomas said.

  "I also understand that in order for your Administration to sell the deal to your Congress and the Senate that the U.S. needs a sponsor. Who-how do we say it? - That understands the need for U.S. companies to be involved in any deal from the outset?" He was drawing reference to the fact that TLH had done the same thing almost two years ago for U.S. companies in Adwalland.

  "I also g
et the fact that by involving TLH, you will expect me to lobby the Russian Government to support the peace plan," Thomas offered, again making reference to the past, when he had successfully acted as a back channel between the two nations on the Adwalland crisis. "But let's be blunt. How much of the pipeline would the U.S. be prepared to underwrite?" he asked, ever the businessman.

  "Mr. President," Eric Lambert interjected. "May I?" the curly haired man in his sixties with salt and pepper hair asked automatically, earning a nod in return from the President to takeover this part of the meeting.

  "The project cost is estimated in the region of three billion dollars," Eric said. "As your equity in the joint venture, will be covered with preferred gas supply status, not to mention that TLH will get a twenty year operator contract for the pipeline!" Eric added. "And the fact that the U.S. underwriting the construction guarantees of the U.S. contractors by providing, via the World Bank, a guarantee to the loan that the National Agency will get to fund their equity. I am quite sure that TLH should be able to convince the Russian State Gas Companies to come in alongside them to cover their commitment in the project funding," Eric taunted him.

  The Ambassador looked at Thomas for a moment. He could see he was processing the structure outline. Although Jack readily admitted that he was never the best when it came to understanding