Strategic Moves

THIRTY-TWO

Stone was nearly done for the day when Joan buzzed once again. “Stephanie Gunn Fisher for you on line one.”

Stone thought that sounded like the name of a substantial heiress and socially prominent woman, which, of course, she was.

He pressed the button. “Good afternoon, Stephanie.”

“Hello, Stone,” she said cheerfully. “How are you?”

“I’m very well indeed, and I hope you and Herbie are, as well.”

“We’re very well, too.”

Stone hoped that, since the health of everyone involved had been established, she would get on with it. She did.

“Herbie has told me of your interest in investing with the Gunn company, and I’m happy to tell you that I’ve discussed it with Jack, and he has agreed to accept you as one of his investors.”

Stone thought as fast as he could. “That’s certainly good news, Stephanie, but since speaking with Herbie about the investment, there have been some changes in my financial setup, so I won’t be able to avail myself of that opportunity at the present moment.”

There was a long silence. “Something I can help with, Stone? A loan or a line of credit, perhaps?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Stone said. “I just have a few things to sort out before I can make the commitment.”

“I see,” she said, and there was a cool edge to her voice.

“I’m very grateful for your speaking to Jack about me, and I will certainly understand if he wants to change his mind, but I just can’t do it right now.”

“Would you care to mention a time when we should talk again?”

“I’ll be in touch as soon as things have calmed down a bit.”

“Tell me, Stone, are you in any way connected to the security firm Strategic Services?”

“Yes, I’m their outside counsel and a member of their board.”

“Are you aware that they have submitted a request to withdraw their investment from our company?”

“They consult with me mostly on legal matters, not financial ones, and since I’ve only recently been appointed, I haven’t attended a board meeting yet.”

“I see. I hope the recent flare-up of publicity hasn’t played a part in their decision, because everything at Gunn Investments is in apple-pie order.”

“I’m glad to hear that, and I’ll be happy to convey your assurances to the CEO when next I see him.”

“Thank you, Stone, and I wish you a pleasant week.” Stephanie hung up.

Stone sighed, relieved that he had avoided telling an outright lie to get through that conversation.

Joan buzzed again. “Pablo for you.”

“Hello, Pablo,” Stone said.

“Stone, I have just learned from a reliable source that my passport and those of my family have been flagged by the State Department and thus may not be used to enter or leave the country.”

“That’s not good news, Pablo. I’m sorry.”

“You must get back to Mr. C. and tell him that these flags must be lifted at once, or I will be unable to speak with him and his people next week.”

“I’ll do the best I can, Pablo, but we have a signed agreement with him that does not include this problem. I’ll speak to him; perhaps he will be of help.”

“Thank you. I’ll wait to hear from you.”

Stone hung up and looked in his book for a cell number for Lance, then dialed it.

“Yes?”

“It’s Stone. Something disturbing has come up.”

“How sad. What do you want?”

“The American passports of Pablo and his family have been flagged, preventing them from entering or leaving the country.”

“Well, I suppose you’ll have to take that up with the IRS, Stone,” Lance said. “It’s their beef.”

“No, it’s not; it’s the State Department who has flagged the passports. Will you look into this, please? I know that the Agency has a close working relationship with State, and I don’t want to see Pablo struck mute by this easily solved problem.”

“Clearly, you have never dealt with the State Department, and I resent your suggestion that Pablo might violate our agreement.”

“That is not his intention, Lance, as I’m sure it was not your intention to have Pablo and his family inconvenienced in this manner. I hope we can sort this out to prevent any dissension among us.”

“Well, I’ll be happy to phone someone at Foggy Bottom, but I can’t make any promises.”

“I’m sure when your contact there learns of the great value of Pablo to national security, he will see the light.”

“May I have the numbers of the passports, please?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary, Lance: we both know your contact will have those at the tap of a keyboard.”

“Perhaps,” Lance said. “We’ll see. I don’t know if he’ll still be in his office at this hour, but I’ll leave a message if he isn’t, and I’m sure he’ll get back to me in due course.”

“I would think that you would be able to reach him now, just as I was able to reach you, and he will be able to instruct the proper person to remove this obstacle before the weekend.”

“Where is Pablo at this moment, Stone?”

“I don’t know, Lance. He has visited me here, but most of our communication has been telephonic. He could be anywhere.”

“I hope he doesn’t have it in his mind to scamper; perhaps you should relay to him the difficulties such an action could visit upon him.”

“Lance, you’ve recently kidnapped the man from his home, snatched him off a highway in Spain and forced him to enter the U.S. illegally, without proper extradition, and then threatened him with torture. I don’t think there’s anything I can tell Pablo about your methods that he doesn’t already know.”

“I hope you’re not going to be difficult about this, Stone. I’m beginning to feel just the tiniest bit stressed by your client’s wavering.”

“Lance, it is within your power to resolve this matter within hours, if not minutes, thereby restoring your monkish state of serenity. We will look upon your immediate actions for a sign of your good faith.”

“Once again, Stone, I must point out that if this has anything to do with the IRS, that’s beyond my purview.”

“I’m sorry, Lance, but I forgot to mention in our previous conversations that Pablo resolved all issues with the IRS years ago and we have in our possession a letter from that agency’s director confirming that, as far as it is concerned, Pablo has been, since that time, an upstanding citizen. All that remains is for you to straighten out the State Department, so that we may independently confirm that the flags have been lifted and will not be reinstated.”

There was a brief silence. “I’ll get back to you,” Lance said, then hung up.

Stone called Pablo. “I’ve spoken to Mr. C. and he has agreed to call his contact with the State Department. He’ll get back to us.”

“God, I hope so,” Pablo said.

“It’s important, Pablo, that you take no action in response to this matter. Are we clear about that?”

“All right,” Pablo said, then hung up.

Stone rested his forehead on the cool, glass top of his desk and whimpered.