Jake held up an apologetic hand and answered in a calming voice. “Not at all, sir. I’m questioning whoever packaged this. Tommy assures me you are a most trustworthy business partner.”
Yeong’s irritation was still evident. “I can assure you my people are accurate and there are no extra thumbs on the scales.”
“If you say so,” said Jake, with less respect than a man of Yeong’s position presumably deserved.
“No one has ever questioned my packaging. I have satisfied many who return often for my product. If you wish to challenge me, then I suggest you return to the Mexicans and their off-color product. I’m sure you can find someone else willing to supply your needs, but they cannot give you the quality I am offering.”
Jake turned on the mea culpa and the sincerity in his response was evident. “I’m sure you’re right. Excuse me for even appearing to question you. That is not what I meant.”
What he meant, he obtained: an extended conversation with a supplier who displayed significant knowledge of an illegal enterprise.
Yeong, momentarily placated by Jake’s response, said, “You know, you don’t have to take meth for payment. If you are fearful about reselling the contents of these packages, I can arrange to pay you in cash, or counterfeit clothing, maybe even jeans? There’s a big markup with Dolce & Gabbana. I can even pay you in cigarettes.” Yeong held up his cigarette, implying it may have been manufactured in North Korea but packaged as an American brand.
Though it wouldn’t minimize the criminal culpability, Jake wasn’t happy. Yeong’s choice of words almost made it sound as if Jake had forced him into the illegal barter of drugs for the shipping container.
“Mr. Yeong, you know smoking’s bad for your health, even the counterfeit brand you’re holding. There’s a warning label on every package,” said Jake in a casual tone with mock concern.
Yeong was still uncertain how to read the American and replied, “You accepted cash for the previous container.”
Jake held up one of the kilos and said, “This is fine, Mr. Yeong. All those who buy your product know you have the best ice made by man. Your reputation throughout Southern California puts you number one with a bullet on any Top Forty chart. I have customers who pay top dollar for this. The risk to me is worth the profit.”
Yeong didn’t speak for a moment. Then, as though he had made up his mind, the Korean gangster said in a quiet voice, “There is always great risk, which is why I am most cautious in my dealings. Only on Tommy’s guarantees have I invited you today. I know there are many agencies of the government here who investigate drugs. Those who are caught face devastating consequences. Be extremely wise in your choices, as I am. Limit your dealings to only those you can trust.”
Jake shook his head slowly, knowing the man across from him wasn’t nearly as wise or as careful as he thought he was. “Mr. Yeong, I appreciate your concern but I’m very careful. As you have seen I have a well-established business which caters to very specific needs.”
Yeong smiled. “I am well aware of your business and that is why I want you as part of my family.”
Jake feigned confusion. “You want me to be an Oriental?”
Yeong corrected him immediately. “We do not like that term.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Yeong, I forgot. Tommy told me. I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”
Tommy looked at Jake, trying to determine if in fact he forgot. Yeong was an important figure in Koreatown and Jake’s continued showing of disrespect might upset the delicate conspiracy the younger criminal capitalist was hoping to create.
Yeong finished the first cigarette and crushed it into a green ceramic ashtray shaped like a dragon. He took deliberate efforts to remove a gold Cartier cigarette case, identical to the one Daniel Reid possessed, from inside his jacket. Yeong grabbed a second cigarette and placed it to his lips, eyeing the bodyguard on the right. Without being asked, the henchman offered a light and Yeong took several long puffs, looking away as if contemplating his next statement.
Jake questioned if he’d crossed the line but then Yeong spoke. “I would like to negotiate for the exclusive use of your contacts at the border. Your connections at the U.S.-Mexican ports of entry are important to our enterprise. We have many different kinds of things we want to ‘import’ into the United States. We have learned it is much safer to bring containers into this country from Mexico than it is to import them directly from overseas into a U.S. port like San Diego, Long Beach, Oakland, or even Seattle.
“Our partners in Asia are counting on my organization to seize this opportunity because they want to make a significant increase in the quantity and types of imports. That is why I am inviting you to become part of my business family.”
Jake nodded slowly and hoped he appeared to be considering the offer. He knew from previous conversations with Tommy and from intelligence reports he had reviewed preparing for the assignment that Yeong was in competition with Park Soon Yong for King of the Hill in the Korean organized-crime community. “That’s an interesting proposition but I’m a pragmatic man. It would have to be financially beneficial for me to limit my dealings to just your organization.”
“Don’t let a reckless desire for success destroy your life. Confucius says, ‘If you try to do too much, you will not achieve anything.’ ”
“I thought Confucius was Chinese.”
“He was but he was still a very wise man. If you bet wrong in this business the consequences are far too great.”
“Well, in the words of one of my favorite philosophers…” Jake began to sing, “I’ll take your bet and you’re gonna regret ’cause I’m the best that’s ever been.”
Tommy shook his head. “Jake!”
“I don’t understand,” said Yeong, confused by Jake’s off-key addition to the conversation.
“Charlie Daniels, ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia,’ ” said Jake with a huge smile.
Yeong blew smoke into the air. “Confucius also said, ‘A superior man is modest in his speech but exceeds in his actions.’ ”
Jake nodded as if in agreement, but then said, “Modesty doesn’t become me. But my actions prove my success.”
“We can do very well if you will be smart. Continue to bring my containers through the border and I will see you are rewarded quite well. Take my cash but leave the ice,” said Yeong, taking a long draw on the cigarette. He then reached into a drawer and Jake readied for the unknown, his weight shifting to the balls of his feet, prepared to attack. When Yeong’s hand surfaced he was holding six bundles of hundred-dollar bills, totaling sixty thousand dollars, and threw them on the table.
Jake shook his head and decided to reset the conspiracy for the purpose of the recording device he was wearing. “Mr. Yeong, I agreed to bring these containers across the border for sixty thousand dollars cash per container. These two keys of meth cost you what, forty thousand dollars at the most, maybe even as little as thirty? I can have my people break down these packages into eight-balls and resell it all for two hundred K — maybe as much as a quarter of a million. You save money. I make money.”
Yeong nodded but then said, “What you say is correct, but breaking down the packages takes time — and reselling brings additional risks. In six weeks we have done two containers. That is a hundred twenty thousand in cash. Is that not enough to satisfy your needs?”
Jake could not have scripted the conversation any better. “I have expenses, Mr. Yeong. It’s not all profits. You’re a businessman, you know that. With this payment in the yaba I can make a whole lot more than a hundred and twenty. Let’s continue to work together. Our common goal is lining both our pockets with American currency.”
Yeong nodded, grabbing the bundles of hundreds from the table and sliding them back into the top drawer of the desk.