Deadly Lode (Trace Brandon Book 1) (21 page)

“
Yeah, it
’
s the best in town,
”
Wally replied.
“
Everybody
,
bring plenty of money.
”

“
Expensive?
”
Jim
asked.

“
Yep, but worth every penny,
”
Wally
replied.

“
Well,
since
Jim just
pon
ied
up
three mil
,
”
I said
,
with a laugh
,
“
I guess
Montana Creek will buy.
”

Wally was right. The food was incredible, the setting perfect.
As we got up to leave,
Bart Yancey
,
the two
-
time Academy Award
-
winning actor
,
and
some
friends
were just passing our table.
Yancey
kindly waved us by. I put my hand out
,
and
w
e shook hand
s
.
I told him I really liked his movies.

Will
also
extended his hand and blurted out
, . . .
“
F
ood
’
s good
.
”

Yancey grinne
d
.
“
G
lad to hear it.
”

Outside, I started laughing
.
“
Jesus, Will, that
’
s probably the only time you
’
ll ever meet
Bart Yancey
,
and all you could say was
,
‘
the food
’
s good
’
.
”

“
Sorry
,
fellows
. H
e
’
s my hero
,
and I sort of froze up.
”

Cyrus got the call early Saturday morning. He was enjoying a cup of coffee and watching his girlfriend
,
Sally Friesen
,
scramble some eggs
while
wearing nothing but a pair of
black silk panties.

“
Cyrus, Malcolm. Sorry to bother you on a Saturday
,
but this can
’
t wait.
”

“
No problem
, Mal. I
’
m in a very good mood this morning. What can I do for you?
”

“
It
’
s Rosenburg.
”

Cyrus put his coffee cup on the table, his hand trembl
ing
just bit.

“
What
’
s
that bastard done now?
”

“
Well, I called him, as we discussed, but before I could
finish
my pitch
,
he told me he no longer owned the shares.
”

“
What!
What in the hell did he do with them?
”

“
He sold them to the
Pantelli
family.
”

Cyrus took a deep breath
.
“
Jesus Christ, I can
’
t believe it.
”

“
Do you have a relationship with the
Pantelli
s?
”

“
I thought I did.
”

“
Rosenburg also told me
the
Pantelli
s
said
t
he
y
would take care of his debt to Carib International.
”

“
He did, did he?
”

“
Yes,
sir
, that
’
s what he said.
”

“
Well
,
I
’
m still holding the paper on Rosenburg.
I
’
ll
call the
Pantelli
s and
find out
what in the hell is going on.
”

I met Will for lunch at the
First Inn
. He said he had some good news.

“
Trace have you seen our share price?
”

“
Yep, it
’
s been climbing steadily since we announced the final core assay results.
”

“
Yeah, the deal with IUC didn
’
t hurt either. Wally says he
’
s getting calls from all the major uranium and gold companies. They all want a piece.
”

“
L
aissez les bons temps rouler
,
”
I said
.
“
Let the good times roll.
”

“
Okay, Mr. Good
Times,
how about buying me a burger and a beer?
”

“
You
’
re on,
”
I said, catching the waitress
’
s
eye.

“
Have you seen the latest charts on the projected price of uranium?
”

“
It
’
s around sixteen dollars a pound, up from around ten. Looks like it may hit twenty early next year.
”

“
Man, the numbers just keep looking better and better,
”
I replied, taking a swig of cold beer.

“
Trace
, as you know, the metals markets are cyclical
.
We
damn sure
want to be selling the property into a rising
metals market.
”

“
Couldn
’
t agree more, Will.
But
,
I think we
’
ve got a three or four
-
year window. The problem is
,
once the price gets up
,
more mines start coming on stream. Uranium production goes
u
p
,
and the price backs off.
”

Will nodded between bites of his burge
r
.
“
The other thing I worry about
,
is another Three
M
ile Island. That little cluster
-
fuck killed the uranium market for damn near twenty years.
”

“
I agree
. I
t
’
s
a
potential fly in the buttermilk. I
’
ve been talking with Jim
,
and now that Montana Creek is cashed up, we may want to initiate at least a limited winter
-
drilling program.
Cut enough core to keep building reserves and keep investor interest up. And thereby our share price.
”

“
I think it would be a wise decision. If we can get the share price up in the
four
-
dollar range, we could apply for a
Toronto
Stock Exchange
listing
. Move up to the big board.
”

“
Yeah, it
’
s pretty sporty
trading in Vancouver
. Let
’
s kick it around with Wally and our new partner
,
and come up with a game plan.
”

“
Sporty
. H
ell, it
’
s the
g
od
-
damned
W
ild
W
est,
”
Will said
,
with a chuckle.

Cyrus
call
ed
Al
Pantelli
and
set up a meeting at the Comstock Casino
in Vegas
.
When
he
landed at
McCarron
International Airport
, a Comstock limo was waiting.

A
l
Pantelli
w
aited for
Cyrus
in the conference room
of his
casino
office
.
He wa
s
seated
in one of the overstuffed chairs, his feet propped on the
$20,000
dollar
reclaimed
t
eak
conference
table
.
A
glass of Jack Daniels
rest
ed
on a coaster
. He rose as Cyrus entered the room.

“
Cyrus, good to see you. No hard feelings
on the f
reakin
’
stock
, I hope? As they say
in the movies
, it wasn
’
t personal, just business.
”

Cyrus
,
shook Al
’
s massive hand and
looked him hard in the eye.
“
No, Al, no hard feelings. It was a smart move
.
”
Cyrus
walked over
to the
conference room
bar and pour
ed
two inches of Crown into a glass of ice.
“
But I do have a business proposition for you.
”

Al sipped his
bourbon
and motioned for Cyrus to sit down
.
“
I
’
m all ears
,
my friend.
”

“
Well, Al, as you probably guessed, I
’
m a player in Montana Creek Mining. I
’
ve been buy
ing
shares in the open market and took down a chunk of their private placement.
”

“
I see
,
”
Al replied, absent
-
mindedly rotating his
three
-
carat
-
diamond
pinky ring
with his thumb
.

“
I tried to get one of my people on their board, but didn
’
t have the votes to force the issue. But I
’
m getting close.
”

“
I
’
m listening.
”

“
With your five hundred thousand shares
,
I would be in a strong position to force the issue.
”

“
Cyrus, I
’
m not interested in selling
my
shares, at least not yet.
”

“
I don
’
t really need your shares
, Al.
All
I
need is
your proxy to vote your shares
.
In return for which I would
pay
you two hundred thousand
dollars
from the money Rosenburg owes me.
With the eight hundred grand I
’
ve
already paid you, you
’
d have the million Rosenburg originally owed you.
Plus you
’
d still have the shares
,
which at today
’
s price is another mil plus.
”