Ch 307 - Back from the Brink

Jessop was in his villa when the phone rang. He had spent the day getting reports from his people about the work against the Steadman family was going. The Cliftons were well on their way to re-establishing control over Baltimore, and it was in large part thanks to Alex. When he heard Alex's voice on the other end of the phone, he was as surprised as he was delighted.

"Of course, Alex," he said. He would do anything to pay Alex back for saving his family. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to borrow about 500 million dollars," Alex told him frankly. "I promise that there's a good reason. Would that be possible?"

Jessop was shocked. It seemed impossible to him that Alex would need that kind of money. But he was determined to help him however he could. "What's it for?" he asked.

"Well, Mr. Clifton," Alex explained, "Reginald Drake, chairman of the Washington D.C. Fidelity Group is a friend of mine. The company has been sabotaged, and it needs about 500 million dollars to recover. Once the situation improves, I promise to pay you back in full."

That was all Jessop needed to hear. "Say no more, Alex," he said. "No matter what the money's for, I'll get it for you. I owe you that."

He paused and thought for a moment before he continued. "I don't have that much money in cash. I can get you 250 million right now, and I can liquidate some assets in order to get you the other half of the sum you need. It shouldn't take more than ten days. How does that sound?"

Alex was overcome with gratitude. "Thank you, Mr Clifton," he said. "I'll accept the 250 million. I'll find another way to get the rest." He was deeply touched by Jessop's generosity, but he couldn't let him sell-off that much of his property.

Jessop tried to protest, but Alex assured him that what he had done was enough. Jessop reluctantly accepted Alex's word, and then he asked him to give the phone to Reginald. Once he had gotten the bank account number and the money had been transferred, he said goodbye to Alex and hung up the phone.

Alex had one more call to make. When his call with Jessop ended, he went onto the Internet and looked up the phone number of the embassy of Brunei.

He felt nervous about doing it this way. But apart from the Cliftons, the only other person he could ask was Justin. And Justin could get in trouble if he lent him money. Nathan would certainly use it against him. The sultan of Brunei was the only option he had left.

It was a long shot, but the sultan had told Alex that he should call and ask for help if he was ever in trouble. Besides, 250 million dollars was probably nothing to the royal family of Brunei.

When the embassy answered, Alex, told them his name and that he was a recipient of the National Medal of Honor. The embassy staff quickly verified this information and connected the call to the Royal Palace in Brunei. The sultan himself answered the phone.

"Alex, my friend," he said in Malay. An interpreter also connected the call, and she translated everything he said into English. "You finally remembered to call me. I'm very happy to speak to you." Based on his tone, it seemed that he had managed to overcome his grief for his wife.

"Hello, your Highness," Alex answered. "It's a great honor to speak to you. I have a great favor to ask of you. I need to borrow money for a friend. I hope you can help us."

"Of course," the sultan said. "I'll lend you whatever you need. Do you remember that you asked me to invest some money in New York? Well, I did. It's been very profitable, and a lot of our people have gone over there to be educated. It will help our country enormously. Thank you."

"Your Highness is very kind," Alex said modestly. He was very pleased to learn that his advice might help improve things in Brunei.

Once again, he gave the phone to Reginald, who gave the necessary information to the sultan. Once the money was transferred, Alex thanked the sultan for his help and hung up the phone.

Reginald was stupefied. Alex had gotten him the 500 million he needed, and it had taken less than twenty minutes. He didn't know whether to be impressed or terrified.

David and his friends stared at Alex in awe. Their shock turned to ecstatic joy when they finally understood what had happened. The Fidelity Group was saved.

Colin's and Noah's heads were spinning. Less than an hour ago, they were on the verge of taking over the Drake fortune. Now, they had lost their hold of the company, and Alex had somehow managed to save it from bankruptcy. It seemed impossible.

Alex pushed Colin aside and went to the door of the conference room. He opened it and was met by a large crowd of reporters. They looked at him with anxious confusion. It was clear that they were all itching for a story.

Alex smiled at them. "There's big news inside," he said. "You should go and get some interviews." He stepped aside, and the throng of reporters rushed into the conference room.

Reginald, Colin, and David and his friends stood dumbstruck. When Alex saw them standing there without moving, he called out to Reginald. "Mr. Drake, didn't you say that you could relieve the crisis immediately if you had the money?"

Reginald looked at him and sprang into action. He took out his phone and called the largest partner of the Fidelity Group. "Hello, Mr. Wood. I think we should discuss our business arrangement again."

"There's no point, Reginald," Mr Wood answered. "I've already told you that I've had another offer with much better conditions. And they're promising to reimburse us for the breach of contract. I simply can't continue to do business with you."

"Name your price, and I'll pay it," Reginald retorted. "I value our partnership, and I won't give it up. It's time we increased the value on this agreement, don't you think?"

"Listen," Mr Wood began. Then he stopped himself. "Did you say increase? Well, if you're serious, of course, I'll stay with you. After all, we already have a contract. We'll talk later about amending it."

Reginald hung up the phone and looked triumphantly at his executives. "Call every one of our suppliers and business partners," he said. "Don't try to negotiate. Just tell them that we'll increase their rates to continue our partnership. Now get going!"

The executives immediately took out their phones and started making calls. David immediately set his friends to work. They needed to make up for the positions left vacant by Colin's bribery. In a few minutes, the room was abuzz with frenetic phone conversations.

Before long, it became clear that the Fidelity Group would manage to retain all their former partners. Every single one of them accepted the new terms. Nathan's machinations were no match for the deals that Reginald could now afford to make, and there was less of a cost in maintaining already existing relationships.

For every call that was made, the resulting agreement was reported to Reginald. As he tallied up the results, he grew more and more relieved. When all the calls had been made, he sighed relief and looked at the results on his notepad.

"We've managed to regain eighty percent of our business contracts," he said. "The remaining twenty percent consists of the business we've lost as a result of government intervention. Our next step is to reach out to governmental departments and explain our situation. I have no doubt that all prohibitive restrictions will be removed."

The happiness in the room was palpable. The Fidelity Group had been saved, and the future of Reginald's family was secured. Some of the people in the room cried with relief, and many closed their eyes to give thanks to God.

Lindsey was particularly happy, not only for what had happened but for Alex's part in it. She thought of him as the hero of the hour, and she need everyone else to think so, as well. She took a step forward and smiled. "Alex is the one who made this possible. He's the one who came up with the money."

Alex had been temporarily forgotten in the frenzy of the phone calls, but Lindsey's words reminded everyone of him. The room went silent as they looked around at each other, and then their eyes fixed on Alex. Reginald reached out to shake his hand, and those closest to him slapped him on the shoulder. 

Further back, someone let out a cry of adulation. "Let's hear it for Alex!"

More and more people joined in, and before long the walls seemed to shake from the calling of Alex's name.