The Business

'Indeed no.  Mr Poudenhaut's visit was as much a surprise to me as it was to you.' He glanced at me. 'It was a surprise to you, wasn't it?'

'Yes.'

'I thought so.' He looked out towards the shore.  We had left behind the last of the scrapped ships' ragged outlines a few minutes ago.  A thin, dark line of mangrove trees had replaced the tawny sands. 'Of course,' he said, 'given what I have told you about today, and given that the Level One executives all know of this matter, there is bound to be, oh, how would one say it?  Some jockeying for position.'

'I think I'm starting to appreciate that, Tommy.'

'We shall be staying in harbour in Karachi for a day or two.  I have to entertain various worthy but not very sparkling industrialists this evening; you are certainly invited, though I think you might be bored.  However I would be honoured if you would join me for lunch tomorrow.'

'If I have time to do a little shopping when we get ashore I'll happily join you for both.  Boring industrialists hold no terror for me, Tommy.'

Cholongai looked pleased.  He glanced at his watch. 'It would be quicker to send you ahead in the helicopter.'

'Oh,' I said. 'Good.'

Having been met by Mo Meridalawah at the airport and transported across the ocean of poverty that was Karachi to the archipelago of shops where serious money could be spent, I had time to buy a new frock, a satellite phone and a DVD player.

'Hello?'

'Mr Hazleton?'

'Yes.  Who is that?'

'Kathryn Telman.'

'Well, hello.  Have you a new telephone, Kathryn?'

'Yes.  A satellite phone.  Thought I'd test it out.  This is my first call.'

'Oh.  I suppose I ought to feel honoured, oughtn't I?'

'You rang off rather abruptly yesterday.'

'Did I?  I'm sorry.'

'Why did you want me to see that, Mr Hazleton?'

'What?  The scene in the hotel?  Oh, I thought it might come in useful for you.'

'It's blackmail material, Mr Hazleton.'

'It could be used as such, I suppose.  I hadn't really thought of that.  You weren't thinking of using it as such, were you?'

'Why should I use it at all, Mr Hazleton?'

'Oh, that's up to you, Kathryn.  I simply thought to provide the material.  How you use it is up to you.'

'But why, Mr Hazleton?  Why did you provide it?'

'I'd have thought it was rather obvious, Kathryn.  So that you would feel beholden to me, so that you would be well disposed towards me.  It is a gift; I'm not asking for anything specific in return.  But I know about the task that Tommy and Jebbet will have outlined to you by now, and it is a very important one for the company.  That will make you a very important person.  In a sense, it already has, even if you have not yet come to a decision.  Have you, by the way?'

'Not yet.  I'm still thinking.'

'That is sensible.  It is a big step.  A step that I, like the others, would like you to take, but you're right not to make the decision without serious thought.  I'm sorry if I've given you even more to think about.'

'Did you set this up, Mr Hazleton?  I mean, the filming.'

'Not I.  You might say that the material fell into my hands.'

'And why do you think that I in particular might be interested in it?'

'Kathryn, it's not exactly common knowledge, but I think I know how you feel about Mr Buzetski.'

'Oh, you do, do you?'

'Yes.  I like Stephen, too.  I admire his integrity, his principles.  It would be a pity if those principles were founded, as it were, on false premises though, wouldn't it?  I thought that, as this piece of film existed, it might be of value to you.  The truth can hurt, Kathryn, but it is usually preferable to falsehood, don't you think?'

'Mr Hazleton, do you hold any evidence of a similar nature concerning me?'

'Good heavens, no, Kathryn.  This is not something I have any regular part in, or wish to encourage.  As I said, the film fell into my hands.'

'And what exactly makes you think I feel anything in particular for Stephen Buzetski in the first place?'

'I'm not blind, Kathryn, and I am human.  The same goes for the people who work for me.  They understand emotions, they can empathise with people.  Of course they make it their business to know how people in the company feel about their colleagues so that one doesn't accidentally place together people who hate each other.  Just good business practice, really, and of genuine benefit to the individuals concerned, too.  I'm sure you can appreciate that in the circumstances one doesn't have to try to discover who's attached to whom, to find out en passant, as it were.  It just happens.'

'I'm sure it does.'

'Quite.  So, you have the film, or video disc or whatever it's called.  Frankly all this technology is beyond me.  How you use it is up to you, though of course I entirely understand that you may wish not to use it directly, as it were.  You may think it would be better if Stephen found out what has been going on without any reference to you, in which case I'm sure that a way could be found for him to discover the truth without you being involved in any way.  All you would have to do would be to let me know.'

'You make it all sound very reasonable, Mr Hazleton.'

'Good.  I'm glad.'

Stephen, help.

How? I'm in a quandary. Where are you anyway?

Home. Where are you?

Karachi. Pakistan. Everybody OK there?

Fine. Wow, you are trotting that old globe. What seems to be the problem, ma'am?

New job offer.

New job offer? What the hell can it be?

Well, for one thing it's in confidence.

You got it.

And also it's in Thulahn.

You have got to be kidding. No, you've got to be being kidded. That's the place in the Himalayas, right?

The same.

Explain. I can't wait. This isn't demotion is it? You haven't done anything foolish have you?

Oh, it's not demotion. And I have done lots of foolish things, but enough about my sex life. They want me to, well, it's hard to explain. Scout the place out. I can't give you all the details, but they want me to settle there. Live there, get to know the people, try and suss how they're going to react to future changes, anticipate their collective mood, I guess.

But there's nothing there, is there?

Mountains. Lots and lots of mountains. And nine hundred thousand people.

How much can't you tell me? Rough idea. Promise it'll go no further.

Shit. Well, it's important. And it would be good for my career, I'm told. But it's a totally radical change. It means giving up the way I live my life, it means giving up what I'm good at, job-wise, it probably means giving up seeing my friends as much as I do at the moment and that's already barely enough. With the job, I don't know I'd ever be able to step back into it. I mean what I do now is all so techy and it's all moving so fast I probably can't leave it for more than about - you guess - maybe a year? Eighteen months max and everything I know will probably be obsolete. What they're proposing is, well, big, so it'll easily go over that eighteen months. Cutting to chase, the point is this is one of those Warning - Not Undoable decisions.

Lordy mama. Don't know how to advise. Sounds like only you are in possession of the full facts.

Wish same could be said for my faculties.

It can. What's your gut feeling?

I must have become a ruminant because I seem to have at least two different gut feelings. One says Fuck it, take it, other just scrunches up into little ball in corner and squeals No no no no no! But which is the real me?

I know which one I'd go for.

Ah, Stephen, if only.

Emma's here at my side, so I'll just ask her...only kidding. When do you need to give them a reply?