Chain Reaction by Don Pendleton

Author:Don Pendleton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Worldwide Library
Published: 2014-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Julius Hegre closed the cell phone. He went over the conversation he had just ended with Henrick DeJong. It had not been the kind of conversation he enjoyed. Less than pleasant. He was about to call Delaware when the door of his office opened and she walked in.

“Not so good news?”

“I’ve just spoken with DeJong,” Hegre said. “He has problems with Lubinski over the delay in paying the man.”

“Damn. This is getting ridiculous. Surely Lubinski knows he will be paid.”

“The deal was on delivery. He has delivered. We haven’t paid.” Hegre spread his hands. “One of the first times we have failed to honor our debt.”

“Do you believe in bad luck?” Delaware asked. “Because if it does exist, we are experiencing one hell of a long run.”

Delaware paced the office, hands braced against her hips. Hegre watched her, understanding her frustration. She was going through a bad time personally. Her meticulous planning was way off track. Nothing like this had happened before. Under Hegre’s guidance Delaware and the organization had mounted successful operations that ran smoothly and ended successfully. Until now. The collapse of the diamond venture had gone against them and Hegre himself had to admit it had been a disaster.

The planning of the operation, the actual heist, had worked well. The diamond cache was intended to prop up Hegre’s finances and assist them over the upcoming operational period. The loss of the diamonds had left Hegre with a deficit that demanded they break into their reserves to finance the uranium deal for the Iranians.

Ayatollah Fikri, the man behind the contract, was difficult to deal with. He was a cold and arrogant individual. He did not conceal his disdain for the people he was employing; he had from the start made it clear he considered Hegre beneath him, that the Hegre organization was an example of Western degeneracy. In Fikri’s eyes Hegre was low on the human scale, but he had to use them because he had no other choice. The embargo on importing uranium into Iran was strictly enforced. There was no other way so Fikri had to go the illegal route. It was a means to an end, an end Fikri felt was totally justified by his ambition to present Iran with the means to build its own nuclear capability.

Hegre had obtained the required uranium. As with the diamond theft, it had taken a great deal of planning and executing. Such an enterprise had cost money. If successful, it would have allowed Hegre to recoup the outlay. The diamonds had been intended to pay Hegre’s way without having to divert other funds.

Stepping back to assess the current situation, Hegre realized that was not running the way he expected. The large amounts of up-front money needed to be forthcoming if Hegre was to avoid the unpleasant experience of disappointing the people he had involved in the operation. In his business it was not advisable to let his suppliers down. The people who worked on Hegre’s behalf in numerous capacities had to be kept happy.

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