CHAPTER THIRTEEN

In the end, he spent the whole week in New York. The good thing was that they finalised the deal for the Di Maglio banks. They set the take-over date for the end of the following week. At that point the new CEO, McGarth, would assume control with the dubious benefit of support from the Honourable James’ dim-witted son.

Di Maglio had called Charles on the Tuesday.“Jacqui won’t return my calls. Why?”

“Perhaps she thinks that you’re a total slime.”

“What the fuck’s this all about?”

“Claire.”

“There has to be discipline. She disobeyed orders. I told her to report everything to me. She didn’t. She worked with you to double-cross me.”

Charles was astounded that Di Maglio so openly admitted he had had her killed. But he didn’t want to rise to any bait, so he ignored the comment.

“I guess also we’re not that happy that you kidnapped Juliet and got your people to shoot Jacqui.”

“Jacqui was an accident. She got in the way. That happens when you carry guns. The kidnap was necessary. You need to work with me on the rest of the Empire. Once the financial side is completed, then we’ll talk about the rest.”

“I don’t want to see you, let alone work with you.”

He laughed. It was a cold and malevolent sound. Charles felt uneasy as he sensed the hatred and contempt of that evil man. He knew the final battle was starting. He knew Di Maglio recognised that. He wanted them in his web and he’d play hard to get them there.

Charles saw Giovanni more often. It was evident that he was concerned at the antagonism between them. He thought it unhealthy. He saw them pushing each other to the brink, and he sensed that they would not stop before one of them had been destroyed. But there was nothing he could do and his first loyalty was always with his boss.

Between the formal meetings, Charles was working on another secure document. It was structured to run for exactly one page, and it was important that it fitted into the sale and purchase agreement after it had been signed.

The one page addition was to be slotted in among the warranties being given by the vendor. It contained the personal and absolute guarantee to all clients of the sold enterprises of one Di Maglio. When the US banks went into default, Di Maglio would be standing there with all his personal wealth.

They had agreed at the signing that they would initial all pages. All Charles needed to do was to ensure that there was a missing number on the Di Maglio copy and a correct number on the two others. As he would take charge of the copy for them as buyer, as well as a second copy to lodge with the US government, the only incomplete copy would be with Di Maglio.

And who was going to believe a Mafia boss when he protested that he had been duped? What government would not pursue him and all his assets to the end of the earth? And without money he would lose all his power. Without power, he would lose his grip on them. They would be safe. And they would have got their revenge.

The days were an endless round of meetings in New York. Charles had to get back to London on one day for business and explained his plans to Jacqui. She agreed with them wholeheartedly. He wanted her to be with him in New York for the signing. She would need to find a way to distract Di Maglio and Giovanni, for they could not risk that they were too alert. One lingering glance at page 33 of the agreement and they were sunk.

They agreed that the signing would be private. Charles would be there with Jacqui and the Honourable James, as well as McGarth. Di Maglio would be with Giovanni. Charles would initial each page of all the documents, then he would sign the final page and the Honourable James would witness it. Di Maglio would do likewise and Giovanni would witness. Then they would take their respective copies, hand the authorities’ copy to the lawyers who would file them and certify additional copies as needed by the bureaucracies around the world. Only the copy they would file with the authorities and Charles own copy would have the important 33rd page.

During that week he also ran through the status of their complex market manipulations. Stephens and Jack Ryder had created a series of trades on markets all over the world. The figures were impressive. It looked as if the bank were making a splendid profit on these. But, in reality, it was now losing one point three billion dollars. Nobody could trace the routing of these deals. They could only identify the point where the money disappeared into the ether. In every case, the signature at that point was that of one of the so-called respectable IBE nominated directors or their families. It looked as if the Honourable James and co. were up to their necks in it.

Jack Ryder had now also warehoused over two billion dollars of strange shares and was slowly pushing their prices up. It was working like a dream and soon they would have a sales drive of the US funds, which would use the cash from those sales to buy those stocks from them. It was clear that things were going better than they even planned. They were already over a billion up on the purchases. And, while they could never have sold out at that profit in a fair market, there were plenty of opportunities to do so with the cash held by the funds.

And the loans were progressing well. Just as with Stephens’ trades, they had been washed through the different companies. The secret accounts that Charles and Jacqui had set up with his parents had swollen already by a further billion and a half-dollars as a result. Once again payments had been authorised by a family member of one of the ‘great and the good.’ It now looked as if they could create more faked loans than originally planned, as the gullibility of those around them was such that it seemed a shame to be too conservative.

The money had been lent by IBE and they had paid it a fee out of the loan. They had enough money retained in the shell companies to pay the interest for about a year and had effectively shipped the rest out through a variety of routes into their own deep pockets.

In total, they were close to four billion dollars to the good and the big game had not yet begun even.

Charles talked through their next steps with Jacqui, “I need to get the US acquisition done and dusted fast. We are getting it for a song. And in any case your father’s shares are going to a trust for our children, although in a few months the rump of them is going to be almost worthless unless I can manage to engineer that second coup with Associated.

I also need to get rid of Stephens. He is becoming tedious. One day he’ll blow his mouth. Soon he’ll have delivered all we want and we’ll waste him. We’ll get Maria to do the necessary. We’ll let his deputy handle things from then on. We can still use the same computer programme to value the assets at whatever we want. The new man won’t understand it and we’ll pay him enough to ensure his silence. That will incriminate him when all comes to light and the trades are shown to be loss making.”

The day for signing came. Charles and Jacqui decided to be there early and were waiting well ahead of Di Maglio. Charles had bought three bulky red folders. One was embossed with the name of Di Maglio. One was embossed with the name of International Bank of Europe. And the third was embossed in the name of the US Administration. They all looked identical, but Di Maglio’s was missing that one crucial page. The page where he gave the added warranties that would be his downfall.

Charles extracted a second slim document. This was the deed they had agreed with Giovanni to allow Di Maglio to pass his shares in the combined operation to his grandchildren. They had considered he might now refuse to do that. But there was no purpose. He had nothing to gain by such action and everything to lose. For the planned deed had already been made public to the US Administration as part of the proof that Di Maglio no longer would have a say in the US bank.

There was a third document. This covered the split of the profits. This was different from the original split. They were now going to give Di Maglio only thirty per cent against the forty they had promised. The balance of ten per cent was going to Juliet.

Charles had manipulated things carefully. They would be busy. All three documents had to be signed for the deal to be finalised. That allowed him to hurry the proceedings along, particularly the initialling of the forty odd pages on the three copies of the sale agreement. That was seen as just administrative at this point as each party had already scrutinised each word in a draft.

Di Maglio entered the room with Giovanni. The broad shoulders, the slightly hunched back and the dark brooding look spelt menace for everyone else in the room. He seemed to be darker than usual and his face was engulfed in the spectre of an afternoon shadow. He stared grimly at each of the others.

He looked the Honourable James up and down. His sneer grew as he took in the hand-stitched shoes, polished to an immaculate shine. He looked at the razor sharp crease of the pin-striped double-breasted suit from a well-known man in Jermyn Street. The white shirt and the old school tie were noted. And then the sneer grew to vicious animosity as he looked at the carefully manicured hands, the immaculately brushed grey hair and that disdainful look that is so unique to the English aristocracy.

He looked at McGarth in his dark blue suit with a button down shirt and matching blue tie. He must have sensed the emptiness of the smile, the boredom in the eyes and the eagerness for lunch. He must have approved secretly of their selection of a chief executive of the US interests. The blandness of the man shone through. This was a cypher, descended from a suitably aristocratic family. This was a unique opportunity to lead the charge to oblivion and default. This was the man who would undoubtedly be visiting a penitentiary soon. And the sneer on Di Maglio’s lips turned to a thin smile. McGarth took that as a welcome and moved forward to shake his hand. The grip of iron that typified a Di Maglio handshake made him wince before he was ignored by the slow roving of their visitor’s eyes.

He saw Charles and nodded. It looked like a curt nod of dismissal rather than greeting. He then noticed Jacqui and started. He had not expected her. Nor had Giovanni, who had been watching this play for a few minutes and had seen Jacqui moments before. He made a move towards her and she moved back.

Charles interrupted the proceedings, “Gentlemen, as this is a private deal and we have also family matters to attend to, I would like us to start the proceedings now.”

Di Maglio sat down on one side with Giovanni on his right. Charles was opposite him and the Honourable James sat opposite Giovanni. Charles signalled McGarth to take a seat at the end of the table between the Honourable James and Giovanni. Jacqui approached her father and moved to the end of the table. He made to talk to her but Charles quickly interrupted him.

“Gentlemen, we have two documents to sign. The first is for the sale of PAF to International Bank of Europe. The agreement has been completed and vetted by our lawyers and a copy is in the folders here. Mr Di Maglio and I need to initial each page of each copy and then we need to sign the document, with Mr Petroni and the Honourable James as the witnesses.

There is also a second paper to sign as well and the lawyers have again vetted this. This relates to the transfer of shares in IBE, the shares resulting from this transaction, to a trust in favour of Miss Juliet Rossi and any brothers or sisters she may have.

I suggest we sign the first and then the second. We will need Mr Petroni as a witness for the second. Perhaps at that point Mr McGarth and the Honourable James can go for a cocktail before lunch. I am sure we all deserve one after this momentous deal.

The lawyers are outside and will take the relevant papers to the Federal Reserve and then others will issue the required press releases. Are there any questions?”

There were none and Charles produced the first two folders. They were the ones for Di Maglio and him. He suggested they initial all pages and then sign their own agreements first. This they did, with Giovanni checking the pages that Di Maglio signed. But he obviously failed to notice the gap in the numbering, concentrating as he was on the text of the agreement. He finished the initialling and Charles and he exchanged copies to countersign. Giovanni did not pay much attention to this one and they saw Di Maglio initial the critical page thirty-three without stopping. Two copies were signed. They now needed to go on to the US Administration document.

Charles had at one time considered forging the initials on the critical page 33, but he had felt that was too dangerous. There would be a challenge and he needed these documents to stand up to the closest scrutiny. Jacqui kept a close eye on the proceedings. Giovanni was looking again at the paperwork. This was more from boredom than anything else. He had checked out the first copy and had found no fault. He suspected nothing. He knew nothing. But they knew his first loyalty, if not all his sympathies, would rest with his boss and he would alert him to any irregularity. They needed to distract Di Maglio and Giovanni this time round. Charles caught Jacqui’s eye and she nodded.

Charles had instructed the heating to be turned up in the room and it was warm. Jacqui waited till Di Maglio had signed page thirty and then she fumbled in her bag. As he signed the next page, he turned to her inquiringly; she stood up. She looked pale. How she managed that Charles would never know.

“I feel a bit wobbly,” she announced. “Charles, I’ll go and sit down outside for a moment.”

Both Di Maglio and Charles had got up. The others looked on curiously. Di Maglio took her by the arm. She didn’t resist and seemed to sway, “Sorry, it’s just that I’m pregnant. I ‘m not usually so pathetic.”

Di Maglio looked stunned. “You never told me,” he said.

“I wanted it to be a surprise for later today. Look, it’s all right. I feel OK again. Let’s carry on with the business.”

Giovanni looked perplexed. The others mouthed congratulations and started to look at Jacqui strangely. It was as if she had done something freakish. It was all strange but it had served its purpose. The diversion had been planned if ever the new pages were being scrutinised closely by Di Maglio or Giovanni. It took everyone’s mind off the papers. Charles sat down again and so did Di Maglio. The next page or two had been initialled before Giovanni started looking again. And by that time the pages were normal. They had got past the vital page thirty three.

They signed and countersigned before Charles produced the next set of papers.

“I think at this point we can excuse Mr McGarth and the Honourable James.”

They needed no second invitation and headed to the adjacent private dining room for the first of their stiff lunchtime Martinis.

Once they had left, Charles produced the document moving the shares in IBE into the trust for Juliet and any brothers or sisters. Di Maglio looked at the document. He turned to Jacqui who had by now returned to the table.

“You didn’t tell me you were pregnant even when you were in the Geneva compound with me. At that time you didn’t know I was involved.”

Charles interrupted. This was an ideal way of making him feel even more insecure. Now Claire was dead it didn’t matter if he knew. “Wrong. We were aware that you were involved. We followed the kidnappers through to Geneva. It wasn’t chance that we were there. It was just chance that we found Juliet like we did.”

“Whom do you mean by “we”?”

“Claire and I tracked them. We followed them to Newhaven and then on through Dieppe. We actually thought that they were Russians. That’s why Claire was helping. She was obeying your instructions to protect us.

We almost managed to grab Juliet when she was handed over. But it was too dangerous. So we followed on. We thought they’d head on to the Russian compound in Uzes. But then they branched off and went to Geneva. It was only at that point that we knew it was you.

Till then we’d suspected you. There were too many unusual events. You’re too good to have made such mistakes. At least you’re too good to make them on purpose. By trying to make it look like a load of ham-fisted Russians you gave your game away.

We thought Juliet was in the compound. Claire and Jacqui were there to find her. It was only then that Claire worked against you. She was disgusted that you would stoop as low as to betray your own granddaughter.”

Di Maglio had turned pale at this and muttered something under his breath.

“Pass the papers.”

He skim-read the document and signed it. Giovanni countersigned and they did the same with the two added copies. This time there were no false pages. All documents were identical. And they had agreed that one copy could be lodged with the US authorities so that they had clear knowledge of the new ownership structure.

Di Maglio looked at Jacqui. He looked sad and embarrassed. But the words that followed were brutal.

“You’re just like that bitch of a mother of yours. You’d betray me at the drop of a hat, just like your mother. You’re not my daughter other than in name. I don’t know who your father really is. But I had some blood tests done years ago and it’s not me. So you’re a bastard and you act like one.

I’ve still signed the agreement to give your kids some of my money. So they get the bank. That’s going to be worth a few billion. So they owe me. And perhaps they’ll appreciate that. Perhaps they’ll be happier to follow in my footsteps than you were.”

Jacqui looked shocked and bit her bottom lip. Charles slipped his hand under the table and squeezed her knee. She read the message. Put it out of your mind. We need to get at him first. This could be a diversion. It sounded true. The bitterness would have been hard to fabricate. But you never knew with a man as evil as Di Maglio. There were no boundaries for him.

Charles picked up the last document and said, “There is another document. I have drawn up and that is an agreement on the split of any profits. This has just one copy. And I’m going to keep it.”

Giovanni and Di Maglio looked surprised. But it was Giovanni who spoke first.

“What does it say?”

“It advises of the change in the split of any profits we make.”

“We agreed that in London at the start of the deal. There will be no changes,” snarled Di Maglio.

“And think what has happened since.” Charles stood up and spat out the list of events, thumping the table with his fist each time but keeping his voice low.

“You tried to fake a mock assassination in New York. You organised a phoney explosion in California. You had us attacked on the freeway. You staged an abortive kidnap attempt in Los Angeles. You gave Juliet the head of a dead woman as a present. You tried to have me roughed up at the airport in LA. We were waylaid in Sussex. You kidnapped Juliet. Fuck you. The deal’s been changed.”

“Then it’s off.”

“Too late you’ve signed. And try to draw a gun and Jacqui will kill you first.”

Di Maglio glanced down and saw that Jacqui had taken a gun from her bag. It was pointing at him. There was no sign of emotion in her face. It was set hard and cold. And the gun was a real one. This was for stopping and killing. This was not for warning and wounding.

Giovanni again tried to calm things down, “What changes are there?”

“To ensure that Juliet is recompensed for the kidnapping, she is in for ten per cent of the profit. The clause also allows Jacqui and I to split out that ten per cent with any other children we have together.”

“What if you remarry? What if she comes to her senses and sees you for the piece of shit you are?” spat out Di Maglio viciously.

“I said children we had together. In any event, Jacqui is married to me and not to someone like you. We plan to stay together. But, once this deal is done, you’re out of our lives.”

“Who passes Juliet the ten per cent?” asked Giovanni although he had evidently already worked it out.

“He does,” said Charles jerking his head towards Di Maglio. “His share was reduced from forty to thirty once he started playing dirty tricks. And there are two other clauses.”

Charles paused but there was no response. At least nobody said anything. Giovanni just sat there quietly. Di Maglio glared at him with a hatred that was so intense that he started to feel uneasy. He steeled himself to repel that look. The hatred was blind. The malevolent feelings of a twisted man blended with the darkness of soul that only he could muster. And that communicated itself through a glare of such intense evil. It made Charles question if they were not better seeing him dead rather than defeated. He would need to keep that in mind.

“The two other clauses are simple. There is a survival clause. If any party dies or disappears before the deal is completed, then the split of profits they would have received is redistributed.”

“Run that by me,” said Giovanni. He did that on purpose. He wanted to gauge Di Maglio’s reaction.

“If you, Maria or Mr Di Maglio were to die before the distribution date, then the clause would rule and your shares would be redistributed proportionately between the survivors.”

“I’ll see it through,” snarled Di Maglio. “But I wouldn’t be so sure of your chances.”

“The second clause excludes you, Maria or Giovanni from benefiting from the death of Jacqui or me. The distribution would then be as indicated in our wills. Those are not part of this agreement.”

“Do we have to agree to this shit?” Di Maglio asked in a hoarse voice.

Giovanni nodded. “He has us caught. There was no written agreement. And he can pull out of the bank sale, too, if he wants on the basis of the kidnapping. And then our banks will be worthless and we could be exposed to other scrutiny.”

Di Maglio exploded in rage and Giovanni went as white as a sheet as the fury was directed against him. “Why the fuck did you let him do that? You screwed up badly there.”

“It’s not abnormal in this sort of agreement. I didn’t know your plans. But there is a clause on mutual trust and openness during negotiations.”

Di Maglio glared malevolently at Giovanni, “Who do I trust? Do I trust that conman over there? Would I ever allow that bitch who thinks she’s my daughter into my inner circle? This better work or you’ll regret it.”

Di Maglio reached over and signed the document. Charles followed suit. After Giovanni countersigned with a trembling hand, Charles calmly picked up the document.

“I think we have finished. I hope you’ll stay for lunch,” said Charles with a sardonic smile.

Di Maglio looked at him and growled “no.”

“And you, Giovanni?”

“I have to as we need to see the lawyers and then go to the New York Federal Reserve,” he replied. He turned to Di Maglio, “I’ll join you around five this evening. Can we have a moment together?”

Giovanni pulled Di Maglio to a corner and they talked sombrely for a few moments. They knew that he was working to calm him down. There was no way for Di Maglio to try to get even with them yet. He would best wait till after the scam. But then he would be broke. He’d have the odd few millions stashed away. But he’d have nothing else.

If he had no cash, his Empire would crumble. You don’t buy goods like that on credit. And you need hundreds of millions of credit, and credit in the form of cash. He would be destroyed. Without wealth he wouldn’t know whom to trust. Others could buy his people. They would want to survive. There would be other drug barons to help them on their way.

Giovanni returned, still pallid and perspiring. Di Maglio, his face etched into a furious glare, strode out of the door without a backward glance.

Charles picked up his folder and checked it had the right document. The sale agreement went from page thirty-two to thirty-four. He slipped the trust agreement in front of the sale agreement. He then tied the cover together and handed the flawed documents to the unsuspecting Giovanni.

He next opened the Federal Reserve folder and checked the documents. That contained page thirty-three. He added the Trust agreement behind it and tied it together.

He finally checked his own folder and added the trust agreement. Then with a smile he added the revised sale conditions.

Giovanni looked at Jacqui and then at Charles to whom he said, “This is dangerous. Be careful. He is your enemy. Nothing should happen until this deal is done. After all, at thirty per cent, he’s in for good money. But you just screwed him out of a billion and he won’t forgive you. I’ve seen him react badly for less.”

“I’d worked that out. But we need to teach him a lesson. We’ll have a family dinner once the deal is done. Is it true what he said about Jacqui?”

He looked at her. She seemed to be pleading with him. “Look, your mother screwed around. I know she did later in the marriage. But I think she loved him early on. So I doubt she did then. He had his doubts and there was a blood test. But he lied. It didn’t show that he couldn’t be your father. It didn’t show he was either. The only way you could prove that is through DNA. And those sorts of tests weren’t available at the time. Until today he never mentioned it. He could, though, try DNA if he wanted. You could too if you got a hair off him or something. That is, if it’s important to you.”

Jacqui went over and kissed him. The little man with the scrawny neck protruding bird-like from his over large collar smiled at her. Charles changed tack again, “Let’s get the show on the road. We should call in the lawyers and have lunch. Then we have an appointment at half two with the New York Fed.”

He called in the lawyers. They were the very lawyers who had drawn up page thirty-three for him. They could be trusted. They didn’t know Di Maglio. He never used them. They had come to them from other sources. And they worked for a twenty million covert tax free annual retainer over and above fees. That bought worldwide coverage and a willingness to be flexible.

The twenty million would already reap Charles a huge profit on this deal alone. And there were others where they would prove useful. The firm, reputed as it was in international legal circles, was happy to be involved in organised crime for a fee of that size.

They took the Federal Reserve copy and placed it in a briefcase that one of the lawyers held with him as they all went into the dining room where the Honourable James and McGarth were happily ensconced into their third or fourth dry Martini. That seemed to affect neither of them, they benefited from a lifetime of training into the best way to hold down a large number of lunchtime drinks.

Charles picked up his document case and slid his papers into it. Giovanni did likewise with Di Maglio’s. Charles apologised for the latter’s absence. “He felt quite distraught,” he explained. “I never realised that he had a soft spot for his banks. I thought he saw them just as an investment.”

McGarth waxed lyrically about it being a great day for two great organisations, “The International Bank of Europe and PAF will show that the sum of the parts is worth more than the individual banks. Together, we make profits of just over five hundred million dollars. Tomorrow we will make more.”

They sat down to lunch soon afterwards. The Honourable James and McGarth blabbed on endlessly until Charles stopped them by saying, “Jacqui will run you through some of the plans that we have for the combined banks. She has been working on strategies. These will obviously need board approval. They are just plans for the moment.”

Both the Honourable James and McGarth looked astonished at the thought of being told what to do and especially by a mere woman. And that made it all the more pleasant for the others in the room.

Jacqui lent forward and expanded on some of the plans they had formulated in secret. Giovanni and Charles knew what to expect but the information was new to the others in the room.

“The optimum strategy is multi-faceted. The key on this side of the Atlantic is to maximise our sales to PAF‘s customer base. We are going to focus on investment funds for this purpose. With five million customers and the recent changes in pension arrangements, there is an incredible opportunity here. Especially since PAF has some good performing funds. With help from IBE, they can extend their investments into emerging markets and specialised sectors. We believe we can sell up to five billion dollars of funds this year alone if we market right. That would add around a hundred and fifty million dollars to our profits.”

There were nods of agreement around the room. Jacqui had not mentioned that they planned to skim off a good chunk of that five billion in a classical share ramp and by fabricating phoney investments. Neither did she reveal to them that they suspected this combination would make them between two and three billion dollars if they off loaded the five billion of funds planned this year. That was way beyond the original forecasts but the markets had been kind to them. Everything had gone their way, so far.

She went on, “We have a second plan. PAF has no major stake in the business market. But IBE does. With the combined balance sheet we can increase our lending to some of the major customers of IBE. We have identified those with US interests or ambitions and PAF will lend to them. We believe it could lend another two billion to this sector. That would improve its profits by around another hundred million a year, plus an added hundred this year through front end fees paid from the borrowers.”

She again failed to say that they would cream off the entire two billion less some of the fees. But that was not for their current audience.

Giovanni played interested, “That, and the sale of funds, ups the combined profits this year by three to four hundred million dollars. That’s an excellent result.”

The others all nodded in excitement as they calculated the value of that increase to their end of year bonuses. “Sod the regulators” was the unspoken collective comment. They all knew that they would now be withholding important information from the authorities. But they wanted the reward and not the words of caution their plan would undoubtedly promote.

Jacqui continued, “We are also planning to offer some of IBE‘s sophisticated financial products to the corporate market clients of PAF. We suspect that we could sell quite a lot of those. That’s enough to add a further hundred or so million to our bottom line.”

The Honourable James intervened, “That would mean that we could make over half a billion dollars on the US side and we’ll make over five twenty in the UK. That means this year’s profits could be as high as a billion dollars. That’s incredible.”

And Jacqui added, “And that leads me to the final part of the strategy. We will sell fifty one per cent of our shares to the public. We will do so after we announce this year’s profits and make our forecast for next year. We expect them to be around a billion, perhaps a bit more, if all these initiatives take place. As a result, the market is likely to take a very positive view of us. We suspect we should be valued at around ten billion in total.”

Giovanni noted, “The bank would be worth more than ten billion in total. I suspect that, at such a profit level, you could well raise six to seven billion plus dollars for a fifty percent stake.” He had now realised the profit was more than they had planned earlier. That was true, for they had upped the amount they would lend to the different companies since their first forecast. They had found more targets and had lent more to the ones they had identified in the first place. That accounted for the welcome increase.

As planned, everyone was suitably impressed. They all knew they could expect share options and other benefits as a result of these plans. Greed dispelled any thoughts that they should reveal these details to the regulators. Avarice prevailed and they ignored the possibility that some of the new revenue flows were not sustainable, and thus they should be questioning the treatment of them. Questions of the propriety of the deals were forgotten. Nobody worried that the board hadn’t been party to these plans.

They didn’t care as long as they made money. This was their swan song. They would be richer than they planned. They needed money to spend in retirement. The golden rule was not to be caught. They waved goodbye to the last vestiges of their morality. Money was more pertinent than principles.

Lunch ended on a high note. McGarth downed a last drink and prepared himself for the “tough one” as he called their pending meeting with the authorities. It was far from tough. They presented the documents and advised of board changes, They shared the press release that would be public in a few hours. The regulators were content. Di Maglio had gone from their world. They were as blind to the dangers as McGarth and the Honourable James had been to the illegal basis and risks of the huge plans Jacqui had just explained.

That evening the papers splashed the news. ‘British financial giant makes US acquisition.’ The commentators waxed enthusiastically about the experience of McGarth. They were misled by the spin-doctors stories about the prowess and reputation of IBE. They were nourished with tales of the new management’s expertise in securities. It all helped for their plans for the future.

The depositors would be convinced they were better than the earlier management. The staff would be persuaded they were going to expand their business. Everything was wonderful. They were secure. More jobs and more opportunities would be created for everyone.

But that was a big lie. The truth was their livelihoods were at risk. That wasn’t Charles’ or Jacqui’s concern. All they needed to do was boost revenues and get the maximum from the sale of the bank before it collapsed.

Inevitably, the news was no news a day or so later. They needed to start to get things moving. The next night, after a round of interviews and meetings, they left for London. McGarth and the Honourable James went on a whirlwind tour of the major cities, where PAF was located. They were good at PR and their trip would confuse the picture more. They would stress to all that they really ran the show. They would want to boost their over-inflated sense of importance and power. They would proclaim their part in all decisions, past and present. And they would effectively condemn themselves.

Jacqui and Charles landed in London. Giovanni stayed in New York. Douglas met them at the airport and they headed happily to their house and the start of their multi-billion dollar disappearing act.