Clive Cussler - Dirk Pitt 13 Shock Wave

The tension that was present in the Paris conference room during the previous meeting could not be felt this time around. Now the atmosphere was relaxed, almost cheerful. The directors of the Multilateral Council of Trade were more congenial as they met to discuss the latest of their international behind-the-scenes business dealings.

The chairs were filled around the long ebony table as the chairman paused', waiting for murmured conversations to die down, before he called the meeting to order.

Gentlemen, much has happened since our last discussion. At that time we were faced with a threat to our international diamond operations. Now, thanks to a whim of nature, the scheme to destroy our diamond market has been brought to a standstill with the untimely death of Arthur Dorsett.

Good riddance to bad rubbish, said the chief executive of the diamond cartel, laughing. He could scarcely believe the triumph he felt, and his elation at having a menacing threat fortuitously eliminated without a costly fight.

Hear! Hear! came a chorus of voices around the table.

I'm happy to report, the chairman continued, the market price of diamonds has risen dramatically in the past few days, while prices of colored gemstones have suffered a substantial drop.

The gray-haired man from one of America's richest families and a former Secretary of State spoke from the other end of the table. What's to stop Dorsett Consolidated Mining's directors from going ahead with Arthur's program of discounting diamonds throughout his vast chain of jewelry stores?

The Belgian industrialist from Antwerp made a gesture with his hand as he spoke. Arthur Dorsett was a megalomaniac. His dreams of grandeur did not include others. He ran his mining operations and sales organizations without a board of directors. Arthur was a one-man band, He trusted no one. Except for occasionally hiring an outside adviser and then squeezing the man or woman dry for whatever expertise he could absorb before throwing them into the street, he ran Dorsett Consolidated alone with no one else at the top.

The Italian cargo-fleet owner smiled. I'm tempted to climb the volcanoes that wiped out Arthur Dorsett and his evil empire and pour a bottle of champagne into their craters.

The Hawaiians do that very thing at the fire crater of Kilauea, said the American.

Did they find his body? asked the Japanese electronics magnate.

The chairman shook his head. According to Australian officials, he never got out of his house, which was directly in the path of a lava flow. His body, or what's left of it, lies under twenty meters of volcanic ash and lava rock.

Is it true all three of his daughters died too? asked the Italian.

One died in the house with Arthur. The other two were found dead on a burned-out hulk of a yacht. Apparently, they were trying to escape the holocaust. There is, I might add, an air of mystery about the affair. My sources inside the Australian government claim one daughter died from gunshot wounds.

Murdered?

The rumor is they were self-inflicted.

The head of the Japanese electronics empire nodded at the director of the diamond cartel. Can you tell us, sir, now that Arthur Dorsett is out of the picture, what the future outlook is for your market?

The fastidiously attired diamond authority from South Africa returned a genuine smile. Couldn't be better. The Russians have turned out to be nowhere near the threat originally predicted. Their attempts to run roughshod over the market have backfired. After selling much of their hoard of rough stones to diamond cutters in Tel Aviv and Antwerp at discounted prices, but still substantially higher than what Arthur Dorsett intended, they have outrun their production. The upheaval of Russian industry has brought their diamond production to a virtual standstill.

What about Australia and Canada? asked the Dutchman.

The mines in Australia are not as extensive as originally predicted, and the Canadian diamond rush is vastly overblown. They are not showing diamonds of any quality or quantity. At present there is no plan to build a large commercial diamond mine in Canada.

Do the sweeping changes in South Africa's political structure have any effect on your operations?

We have worked closely with Nelson Mandela right from the beginning of the downfall of apartheid. I can safely say that shortly he will introduce a new tax system that will be most advantageous to our earnings.

The sheik representing the oil cartel leaned across the table. This all sounds encouraging, but will your profits enable you to assist in carrying out the Multilateral Council's goal of a one-world economic order?

Rest assured, replied the South African, the diamond cartel will meet all commitments. The demand for diamonds worldwide is rising ever higher, and our profits are expected to soar for the first ten years of the new century. There is no doubt that we can carry our share of the monetary burden.

I thank the gentleman from South Africa for his report of confidence, said the chairman.

So where does Dorsett Consolidated go from here? asked the sheik.

Legally, replied the chairman, the entire business passes into the hands of Dorsett's two grandsons.

How old are they?

A few months this side of seven years old.

That young?

I didn't know any of his daughters were married, said the Indian real-estate developer.

They weren't, said the chairman flatly. Maeve Dorsett bore twins out of wedlock. The father comes from a wealthy family of sheep ranchers. My sources say that he is an intelligent and reasonable man. He has already been named to act as guardian and administer assets of the estate.

The Dutchman stared down the table at the chairman. Who has been named to handle the boys' corporate affairs?

A name you're all well familiar with. The chairman paused and smiled sardonically. Until the grandchildren come of age, the day-to-day business activities of Dorsett Consolidated and its subsidiary divisions will be managed by the Strouser family of diamond merchants.

There's retribution for you, said the American elder statesman.

What plans are in place should the diamond market collapse on its own? We can't control prices forever.

I'll answer that, said the South African. When we can no longer maintain a grip on diamond prices, we turn from natural stones excavated by expensive mining operations to those produced in a laboratory.

Are fakes as good? asked the British publisher.

Chemical laboratories are currently producing cultured emeralds, rubies and sapphires with the same physical, chemical and optical properties as stones mined from the ground. They are so perfect that trained gemologists have difficulty detecting any distinction. The same is true with laboratory-created diamonds.

Can they be sold without disclosure? asked the chairman.

No need to deceive. Just as we educated the public into believing diamonds were the only stone to own, so can cultured stones be advertised and promoted as the most practical to buy. The only basic difference is that one took millions of years for nature to create, the other fifty hours in a laboratory. The new wave of the future, if you will.

The room went silent for a moment as each man considered the potential profits. Then the chairman smiled and nodded. It would seem, gentlemen, that no matter which way the pendulum swings, our future earnings are secure.