The Spoilers / Juggernaut

‘Which torpedo would be most suitable?’

‘Doesn’t really matter,’ said Parker. ‘As long as it’s an electric job.’

She twirled her glass slowly in her fingers. ‘I have a friend,’ she said. ‘He was a U-boat captain during the war. His opinion of the British torpedo was very low. He said that on half the firings the British torpedo went wild.’ Her voice became sharp. ‘That would not be permissible.’

‘Christ, no!’ said Eastman. ‘We can’t lose a torpedo – not with what it will be carrying. It would be too goddam expensive.’

‘Ah, you’re talking about the early British torpedoes,’ said Parker. ‘The Mark XI was different. Your U-boat skipper was dead right – the early British fish were bloody awful. But the Mark XI was a Chinese copy o’ the German fish an’ it was very good when it came into service in ‘44. We pinched it from the Jerries, an’ the Yanks pinched it from us. Any o’ those torpedoes would be good enough but I’d rather have the old Mark XI – it’s more familiar, like. But they’re all pretty much the same an’ just differ a bit in detail.’

‘On what basis will you get the extra performance?’

‘Look,’ said Parker, leaning forward earnestly. ‘The Mark XI came out in ‘44 an’ it had lead-acid batteries – that was all they had in them days. Twenty-five years have gone by since then, an’ things have changed. The new kalium cells – that’s mercury oxide-zinc – pack a hell o’ a lot more power, an’ you can use that power in two ways. You can either increase the range or the speed. I’ve designed circuits for both jobs.’

‘We’re interested in increasing range,’ said Eastman.

Parker nodded. ‘I know. It’s goin’ to cost you a packet,’ he warned. ‘Mercury cells ain’t cheap.’

‘How much?’ asked Delorme.

Parker scratched his head. ‘Every time you shoot a fish it’ll cost you over a thousand quid just for the power.’

She looked at Eastman, who interpreted, ‘A thousand pounds sterling.’

Abbot sipped his champagne. ‘The cost of everything is going up,’ he observed coolly.

‘That’s a fact,’ said Parker with a grin, ‘Back in ‘44 the whole bloody torpedo only cost six hundred quid. I dunno what they cost now, though.’

‘Fifteen hundred pounds,’ said Eastman. ‘That’s the going rate on the surplus market.’

‘There you are,’ said Parker. ‘Another thousand for a trial an’ another for the real job, plus, say, five hundred for conversion. That’s four thousand basic. Then there’s our share on top o’ that.’

‘And what is your share?’ asked Jeanette Delorme.

‘A percentage of the profits,’ said Abbot.

She turned to him. ‘Indeed! And where do you come in on this? It seems that Parker is doing all the work.’

Abbot smiled easily. ‘Let’s say I’m his manager.’

‘There are no passengers in the organization,’ she said flatly.

Parker broke in. ‘Me an’ Mike are mates – I go where he goes, an’ vicey-versey. Besides, I’ll see he works hard – I can’t do it all meself.’

‘It’s a package deal, you see,’ said Abbot. ‘And you talk business to me.’

‘The profits on smuggling gold are not very big,’ she said doubtfully.

‘Oh, come off it,’ said Abbot in disgust. ‘You’re not smuggling gold – you’re running dope.’

She looked at Eastman and then back at Abbot. ‘And how do you know that?’ she asked softly.

‘Just putting two and two together. There was a whisper in London – that’s why we came out here.’

‘That was one whisper too many,’ she snapped.

Abbot smiled. ‘I wouldn’t worry too much about it. I was a professional in the whisper-listening business. It was just a matter of chance, and coming out here was a hell of a long shot.’ He shrugged. ‘But it’s paid off.’

‘Not yet,’ she said pointedly. ‘How much do you want?’

Twenty per cent of the take,’ said Abbot promptly.

She laughed. ‘Oh, what a stupid man we have here. Don’t you think so, Jack?’ Eastman grinned, and she said seriously, ‘You will get one per cent and that will make you very rich, Monsieur Michael Abbot.’

‘I may be stupid,’ said Abbot, ‘but I’m not crazy enough to take one per cent.’

Eastman said, ‘I think you are crazy if you expect to get any kind of a percentage. We’re not going to work that way.’

‘That’s right,’ said Delorme. ‘We’ll give you a flat rate for the work. What would you say to a hundred thousand American dollars?’

Abbot raised his eyebrows. ‘Each?’

She hesitated fractionally. ‘Of course.’

‘I’d say it’s not on,’ said Abbot, shaking his head. ‘We’d want at least double that. Do you think I don’t know what the profits are in this racket?’

Eastman chuckled raspingly. ‘You’re both stupid and crazy. Hell, you’ve given us the idea anyway. What’s to prevent us going ahead without you?’

‘Now who’s being stupid?’ asked Abbot. He pointed to Parker. ‘Torpedo mechanics aren’t easy to come by, and those who can do a conversion like this are even rarer. But a mechanic who can and is willing to run dope is as rare as a hen’s tooth. You can’t do it without us – and you know it.’

‘So you figure you’ve got us over a barrel.’ said Eastman ironically. ‘Look, buster; a week ago we didn’t even know you existed. We don’t need you, you know.’

‘But it’s still a good idea, Jack,’ said Delorme thoughtfully. ‘Maybe Abbot will meet us half way.’ She turned to him. ‘This is final – take it or leave it. Three hundred thousand dollars for the two of you. One hundred thousand deposited in a bank here on the successful completion of trials – the rest when the job is done.’

Abbot said, ‘What do you think, Dan?’

Parker’s mouth was open. He closed it, and said, ‘You have the business head; I’ll leave it to you, Mike.’ He swallowed convulsively.

Abbot pondered for a long time. ‘All right; we’ll take it.’

‘Good!’ said Delorme, and smiled radiantly. ‘Order some more champagne, Jack.’

Abbot winked at Parker. ‘Satisfied, Dan?’

‘I’m happy,’ said Parker faintly.

‘I think payment by result is the best way,’ said Abbot, and looked sideways at Eastman. ‘If we’d have stuck to a percentage, Jack here would have cheated the pants off us. He wouldn’t have shown us the books, that’s for certain.’

Eastman grinned. ‘What books?’ He held up a finger and the sommelier came running.