AWACS - An American With A Chinese System
Copyright© 2025 by PT Brainum
Chapter 62
I met the van delivery guy at the hotel at 10 am. He was very nice, and after minimal paperwork, I was handed the keys. The cargo van wasn’t very big, but it was rated for 950 kilo of cargo. The cost for fuel wasn’t too bad, and I wasn’t planning on going far, so I opted to not fill it back up when it was time to return it.
The bank had arranged for me to pull into a very small underground parking area for the delivery. I paused just down the street from the bank to summon 16 cubes, each 50 kilos of gold. The van settled with the weight, but seemed well capable of the load. Once I pulled into the parking area, the rolling doors came down, closing it off from the street.
Gerard Mikel was stiff faced as I pulled into the parking space that the security guard directed me into. He was accompanied by the nice teller who had brought me to his office several times now. I got out of the van and walked over and shook both their hands. The teller seemed to have a promotion, as she was wearing a name tag, Elise.
“Here’s the first delivery, the van couldn’t hold it all, so split it into two groups,” I told him, as I opened the back doors, to reveal the cubes sitting on the floor of the cargo van.
I got a very nice, “Mon dieu!” from Elise, and a surprising “Merde!” from Gerard. I just laughed at their reactions.
A guard wheeled over a scale, and then two of them struggled to get a handhold on the slick metal cubes. Eventually they figured out how to tip it over so they could get a strap under them so they could lift them off the truck onto the scale, and finally into a cart. The cart was limited to just two cubes, but they seemed to have several, and kept the process going. The carts went thru a door in the garage, but I didn’t follow them. I wasn’t sure where the vault was, and I wasn’t being invited to see it either.
“Here is your receipt, Sir,” Elise offered after the last cart was wheeled away.
I took the receipt and grinned at Gerard, who wasn’t smiling today.
“When will the rest arrive?” he asked.
I checked my watch, then looked at him, “Give me an hour?”
“Certainly, we will be ready,” he assured me.
I drove up the ramp, but had to wait for security to open the doors first. Once they had it open, it was an easy trip down the street to a coffee shop. They had nice coffee, and even better pastries. Another win for Switzerland vs Germany. A quick bathroom visit, and I got back in the van and summoned the final 15 cubes. The distance was farther this time, but the streets were limited in speed to 50kph, and traffic was light this morning. It was mostly one way streets as well.
I pulled back into the bank, and everything repeated. Gerard was smiling, which had me a little worried.
“Mr Roberts, we have had an offer for some of your gold.”
“Already? At what price?”
“63 dollars per gram.”
I had to use my calculator, that was over 91 million for the batch. “What is the spot price today?”
“Today gold is running at $62.80 per gram. These prices are US dollars.”
“I understand, and how much is being sold at that price?”
“300 kilo.”
“Very good, see if you can match that for the rest. I am guessing that your purity test has finished already?”
“Yes, and it has come back as better than 99.9999% pure.”
“As I expected. Now future deliveries will depend on your ability to broker this gold delivery, as well as coming to an agreement on brokerage fees.”
“Yes, please come to my office,” he invited.
“Once the gold is unloaded, and I have a receipt, certainly,” I subtly insisted.
“Yes, of course,” he said with an ugly smile.
It took the guys a while to unload it, even if they had a system down. I soon had a receipt and was in an elevator going up to a higher floor than I had been at previously. Elise was there to serve coffee and pastries, which made me chuckle. Perhaps there hadn’t been a promotion after all.
We settled on opposite sides of a large table and enjoyed the coffee before we got down to business. He had pointedly waited for Elise to leave before beginning.
“Considering the potential market for private gold buyers, we can continue to guarantee the minimum brokerage price of sixty dollars per gram. We certainly expect to get a higher price, but will not brokerage it for less than that price.”
“That’s fine, the sticking point for me is whether your fees warrant an agreement for you to handle the entire 4000 tons, or if I should spread it around. It’s quite an ordeal to move so much gold.”
“I understand, and we would like to continue to support your efforts and to be trusted with your business. I’ve been authorized to offer a 50% discount on our brokerage fees, retroactively once the total brokered amount of gold exceeds fifty metric tons.”
I smiled because I had a skill for this, so I activated it, “What’s the minimal brokerage percentage you will take, and at what terms?”
He looked uncomfortable like he didn’t want to say, but finally he spoke, “Point 3 percent, retroactive after each hundred tons brokered. That’s with the understanding that we may hold the gold at our discretion so that the global price is not overly affected, and will provide a cash advance if required of up to 50% of the spot price the day it is delivered, the remainder to be paid as brokered.”
“I can accept that deal,” I told him, figuring it was probably a very good offer, considering both my truth skill and my negotiation skill had been running.
“I will get it drawn up immediately so that it will supersede our current agreement,” he said, getting up and leaving the room. I got to enjoy the view from the windows that looked out over the city while I waited.
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