"Apology accepted." He waved magnanimously. He was still a jerk, but at least I didn't have to hate him for it any more.
I turned back to my mom. "I need to get back to Oakland-"
"Without eating-? You just got here!"
"Won't it wait?" Alan asked.
"Um-this is really important."
"Well, so is dinner. There's something Alan wants to talk to you about. I specifically invited you so he could-"
We started off with fresh tomato juice, pate, and a spinach salad-where had she found spinach? Obviously, somebody had spent some money on this meal. This was important.
So I praised every course, and waited for the punch line. Had he finally proposed-? Was that what this was about? And who was Mr. Takahara?
Alan kept his dinner conversation polite. Apparently my earlier outburst had given him a healthy fear of the United States Army-or at least of my commitment to it.
He was also talking much more obliquely than before. "Listen, Jim-I wasn't kidding about the money to be made. For instance, do you know what July dollars are selling for right now? If you had bought July dollars last December, you could turn them over for a thirty percent profit right now. The market is galloping. It's a whole new ball game-and it's the best one yet. Now that the banks have been reorganized, this country can show a profit on the inflation of its currency. And thirty percent is a very healthy rate. It's good for us. It guarantees a lot of economic growth."
I shrugged. "I guess you're right, Alan. I don't really know that much about economics."
He nodded at me enthusiastically. "That's the point. If you were to start turning your caseys into future dollars, you could double your money every eighteen months."
"So-?"
He looked over at my mother. She looked at me. "Dear-" she said, "-don't they pay you some kind of bounty for every Chatorran you kill?"
The punch line.
The United States government would pay one million caseys for every worm killed, ten million for every one captured alive. I'd collected two bounties as an individual and was owed a third. As a member of a team, I'd participated in 106 others. Last I'd looked, I was worth 9.2 million kilocalories. So what? What was I going to do with it?
My mother had an idea.
I looked at her. I looked at Alan. I was incredulous. "I don't believe this. That's what this is all about?"
Alan held up a hand. I held back. "Jim-wait a minute. Hear me out."
"No-" I said. "Absolutely not. Not half an hour ago, you were telling me you didn't even believe the worms were a threat. Now you're asking for the money the government pays for killing them. Excuse me, but that feels a lot like hypocrisy-" I could feel my tantrum shifting into high gear.
Alan said, "Jim! I didn't know that was the source of your money. I apologize-"
I looked at him. "Really?"
"Really. I apologize. I was out of line before. I didn't know-" He looked a little desperate. "-You had every right to get angry with me. If you have nine million caseys in bounty money, I guess that's proof enough you know what you're talking about."
"How did you know it was nine million? I never said how much I had-"
"Your mother told me you had a credit account. She didn't tell me where it came from. I'm sorry, Jim. Really."
Two apologies. The man was desperate. I sat down again, curious.
Alan looked to my mother. "'Nita, honey-would you serve the coffee now?"
My mother nodded and left the table. "Coffee? Real coffee?"
"No expense has been spared for the number one son." He grinned nervously, then allowed himself to relax a little. "I'd like to offer you an opportunity, Jim. I'd like you to listen, if you will."
I shrugged. "I'll listen, but I'm not lending any money-"
Mr. Takahara cleared his throat politely. We both turned to look at him.
"If I may," he said. "The opportunity is actually mine to offer. Mr. Wise-" he bowed modestly, "-invited me here tonight specifically to meet you."
"Sir?"
"I am not going to ask you to lend me any money, young man. I already have all the money I need. May I tell you how this works?"
"I said I'd listen... ."
He took that as an assent. "My company is bidding on a major reclamation project-I can't tell you what-but it's one of the biggest ever. Now, I don't know if you know anything about the Reclamation Laws, but they're very strict. You cannot just set up a company and start bidding."
"Any gang of looters can do that-" interrupted Alan. Mr. Takahara looked at Alan Wise politely.
Alan Wise shut up.
Mr. Takahara smiled and turned back to me. "This is the way it works. You have to put a deposit in escrow equal to one percent of your claim. So the amount of money you bring in determines the amount you can take out."
My mother returned with the coffee. Alan and I waited while she poured it. The aroma was intoxicating. I'd forgotten how much I missed coffee.
"So-" said Alan, resuming-yanking me out of my reverie over coffee. "Do you see what a terrific opportunity this is for you? You can put your money into a protected escrow account-and our company can then claim a very large and important piece of property. That's why I was suggesting that you invest in dollar futures. The federal government will accept that as a continually expanding collateral. You put it in a rotating account."
"Uh huh-and what happens when I want to take my money out again?"
Alan nodded, "But you won't want to-"
I said, "It sounds like I take the risk and you take the profit."
Mr. Takahara spoke again. He said, "This is very good coffee. My compliments."
My mother smiled and nodded and looked uncertain. "Why-thank you."
Mr. Takahara looked to me then. "There is no risk to you. You will own a pro rata share of the operation. That is better than you can get from any other reclamation company."
Alan Wise added, "You stand to turn your nine million caseys into ninety million." He looked at me expectantly. "That's quite a deal, isn't it?"
I hesitated. "If you say so. Um-what do you get out of it?"
Alan Wise spread his hands modestly. "I'm what they call ... a participating agent. I put the package together and I take points."
"Points?"
"A piece of the package."
"Oh."
"Jim-" he added. "It's not just your money we want. It's your expertise as well. It's you we want. And-there's something else. I didn't want to bring it up, but it wouldn't be fair not to-" He glanced over at my mom and then back to me. "Your mother asked me if I could get you out of the army and into some place a little, well-safer. Your being in the hospital and all-well, you know how mothers are. She worries. I don't know what your present commitment is; but I know you've completed your basic obligation, so I know that something can be worked out. I know some people in Denver, and-well, you know; maybe it can be arranged. And certainly, if these worms, as you call them, are as dangerous as you say, then you ought to give serious thought to this. It's a safer, far more lucrative alternative. You've done your part for your country. Now it's time to do something far yourself, and for your mother too."
I glanced over at her. Too much makeup, too much jewelry, too much perfume-and too much hope in her eyes. There was too much desperation in this room. It made me very uncomfortable.
"This coffee is very good," I said. I put my cup down thoughtfully. All of them were watching me carefully. I picked up my napkin and patted my mouth. "I, uh-I'm going to have to think about this." My father had taught me that-the polite way to say no. "I have to think about it." Just keep repeating it until they get tired. It works on everyone except used-car and encyclopedia salesmen.
"Absolutely!" Alan Wise agreed, a little too enthusiastically. "You have to be sure that it works for you. I wouldn't want you to do anything that you're not absolutely sure of. But I just want to give you one more fact. Now, it's completely off the record, and you didn't hear it here-but it just might be the one piece of information you need to hear-" He looked at me, he looked at Mr. Takahara, he looked at my mother, he looked back to me. "Are you ready?" he asked dramatically.