note 18 !"
"No. I've just talked to Paul." Momentarily Dunross glanced at Plumm. "Sorry, Jason, that was why I was late. Naturally I had to see him. Bruce, old fellow, Paul's already down at the bank making arrangements for the transfer of China's cash in time for opening —he asked if you'd go there, at once.""Eh?""At once. Sorry."Johnjohn stared at him blankly, started to talk, stopped, then erupted with a cheer that everyone took up, and rushed out, cheers following him."Christ, tai-pan, but did you . . .""Tiptop? That means it's real! Don't you think . . .""First Central of New York? Aren't they the berks who . . .""Christ, I've been selling short . . .""Me too! Shit, I'd better buy first thing or . . .""Or I'll be wiped out and . . ."Dunross saw that Sir Luis, Joseph Stern and Phillip Chen had their heads together, Gornt still staring at him, his face frozen. Then he saw Casey smiling at him so happily and he raised his glass and toasted her. She toasted him back. Gornt saw this and he went over to her and those nearby shivered and fell silent. "First Central's Par-Con's bank. Isn't it?""Yes, yes it is, Quillan," she said, her voice sounding small but it went through the room and once more all attention surrounded them."You and Bartlett, you did this?" Gornt asked, towering over her.Dunross said quickly, "I arrange our loans."Gornt paid no attention to him, just watched her. "You and Bartlett. You helped him?"She looked back at him, her heart thumping. "I've no control over that bank, Quillan.""Ah but your fingers're in that pie somewhere," Gornt said coldly. "Aren't they?""Murtagh asked me if I thought Struan's a good risk," she said, her voice controlled. "I told him, yes, that Struan's was an admirable risk.""Struan's is on the rocks," Gornt said.Dunross came up to them. "The whole point is, we're not. By the way, Quillan, Sir Luis has agreed to withdraw Struan's from trading until noon."All eyes went to Sir Luis who stood stoically, Phillip Chen beside him, then went back to Dunross and Gornt again."Why?""To give the market time to adjust to the boom.""What boom?""The boom we all deserve, the boom Old Blind Tung forecast." A wave of electricity went through everyone, even Casey. "Also to adjust our stock value," Dunross's voice rasped. "We open at 30.""Impossible," someone gasped, and Gornt snarled, "You can't! You closed at 9.50 by God! Your stock closed at 9.50!""So we offer stock at 30 by God!" Dunross snarled back.Gornt whirled on Sir Luis. "You're going along with this highway robbery?""There isn't any, Quillan," Sir Luis said calmly. "I've agreed, with the committee's unanimous approval, that it's the best for all, for the safety of all investors, that there should be a quiescent period —so that everyone could prepare for the boom. Till noon seemed fair.""Fair eh?" Gornt grated. "You've got lots of stock I've sold short. Now I buy it all back. What price?"Sir Luis shrugged. "I'll deal at noon tomorrow, on the floor, not away from the market.""I'll deal with you right now, Quillan," Dunross said harshly. "How many shares've you sold short? 700,000? 8? I'll let you buy back in at 18 if you will sell the controlling interest in All Asia Air at 15.""All Asia Air's not for sale," Gornt said, enraged, his mind shouting that at 30 he would be wiped out."The offer's good till opening tomorrow.""The pox on you, tomorrow, and your 30!" Gornt whirled on Joseph Stern. "Buy Struan's! Now, in the morning or at noon! You're responsible!""At, at what price, Mr. Gornt?""Just buy!" Gornt's face closed and he turned on Casey. "Thanks," he said to her and stomped off, slamming the door behind him. Then conversation exploded, and Dunross was surrounded, people pounding him on the back, swamping him with questions. She stayed alone at the doorway of the veranda, shocked by the violence that had been. Absently, in turmoil, she saw Plumm hurry off, Roger Crosse following, but she paid them little attention, just watched Dunross, Riko now beside him.In the small back bedroom Plumm reached into the drawer of a bureau that was near the big iron-bound sea trunk. The door swung open and he spun around and when he saw it was Roger Crosse his face twisted. "What the shit're you doing? You deliberately f—"With catlike speed Crosse was across the room and he belted the man open-handed before Plumm knew what was happening. Plumm gasped and blindly readied to leap at Crosse but again Crosse belted him and Plumm stumbled backward against the bed and fell onto it. "What the f—""Shut up and listen!" Crosse hissed. "Suslev's going to shop you!" Plumm gaped at him, the weal from the blows scarlet. At once his anger vanished. "What?""Suslev's going to shop you to Sinders, and that means all of us." Crosse's eyes narrowed. "You all right now? For chrissake keep your voice'down." "What? Yes … yes. I … yes." "Sorry, Jason, it was the only thing to do." "That's, that's all right. What the hell's going on, Roger?" Plumm scrambled off the bed, rubbing his face, a thin trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth, now totally controlled. Outside was the rise and fall of indistinct conversation."We've got to make a plan," Crosse said grimly and recapped his conversation with Suslev. "I think I've got him convinced, but that bugger's slippery and there's no telling what he'll do. Sinders'll shop him, I'm sure of that, if Suslev doesn't finger Arthur—and if Sinders shops him, Suslev won't come back to Hong Kong. They'll keep him and break him. Then wh—""But what about Dunross?" Plumm asked helplessly. "Surely Dunross could've got him out of the mess. Now Gregor's bound to talk. Why stop me?""I had to. There was no time to tell you. Listen, after I left Suslev I checked with HQ. They told me Tiptop'd helped those bastards squeeze out of the trap with China's money. Earlier I'd heard that lan'd arranged his loan," Crosse added, lying. "So the runs're over, the stock market's got to boom, Dunross or not. But worse than that, Jason, I got a whisper from an informant in Special Branch that Sinders has tripled security on Kai Tak, the same on the Ivanov wharf, and that, right now, they're opening every crate, every bag, searching every piece of equipment, checking every coolie that goes aboard. If they'd intercepted Dunross, and they would—Si's too smart—we'd be trapped."Plumm's nervousness increased. A tremor went through him. "What, what about.. . Say we give Sinders Gregor?" he burst out. "What if we gi—""Keep your voice down! You're not thinking clearly, for God's sake! Gregor knows all of us. Sinders'd shove him on a sleep-wake-sleep regimen and into the Red Room and he'd tell everything! That'd wreck us, wreck Sevrin and put the Soviets back ten years in Asia."