Wings of the Morning (45 page)

Felix Maas began his commentary. He spoke precisely and without pause for nearly twenty minutes, drawing his audience into a fuller understanding of the complexity of the role he had been
playing. He listed his sources of information, described the techniques he had used and invented to test facts, weigh probabilities and assess relative values. It was fascinating stuff, daunting in
its scope and detail. As he concluded, Aischa asked Felix if he had included Angola in his marathon exercise and he affirmed. Her native land had been in David’s gut feel list of fourteen to
which were added two more at the suggestion of Felix before the analysis programme had reduced this to eleven, then to six and finally to the three from which David had made his final choice.

Felix Maas sat back then, warmed by the general murmurings of thanks and congratulations. He was followed by Fergus Carradine who was introduced by David.

‘Fergus has been with us since May of last year, but he’s based in the Far East. He’s been establishing the Strike Force which he will lead. The role is critical. We have to
acquire control before we can do anything else. We must quell any opposition, but we want to avoid bloodshed and mayhem. Fergus won my confidence at our first meeting and I believe he’ll now
do the same for you, but I’ll let him speak for himself.’

‘Thank you, David,’ said Cogs Carradine and he steepled his hands in front of him as he started with a short resumé of his personal and career background. He looked from
person to person as he spoke to them all. He had this brief opportunity to establish relationships and he wanted to make the most of it. Then he came to the meat of it.

‘Since I joined, I’ve been occupied with establishing a base for Zero and starting recruitment. We have also been sourcing equipment and materiel — that’s to say weapons
and ammunition. I am quite happy with our progress to date: we are on schedule.

‘I have no photographs to show you and few specifics to detail. That’s because Zero Strike Force is a covert operation and it’s wise to limit information. That applies also to
those under my command. It’s quite possible to make plans and dispositions without knowledge of the target or the full mission, but I can give you an overall brief.

‘First, personnel. So far, I’ve engaged fifty men and women on generous terms and conditions. These are professional people, some experts in particular fields. They have their own
contacts which will help our numbers to rise swiftly from June of next year. There will be a final few during the following quarter and we will be complete by the end of October 1999. We will then
be at battalion strength, with 500 front line and 150 in reserve.’

Carradine gave himself a pause as he looked around the room, satisfied that his audience was hanging on his words.

‘As the months pass and our numbers grow, there will inevitably be a small minority prone to speculation, but I’m not troubled by that prospect. I have the view that a little
uninformed gossip provides effective disinformation.’

David felt the flow of confidence in the room. He noted King Offenbach, who stretched out his long legs with a soft grunt of approval. Then Fergus was moving on.

‘Secondly, equipment. I’m not going to set out a list of all we’re buying, nor sources and delivery arrangements. We must have air power and transportation. As to the latter,
it’s relatively straightforward to buy Chinook helicopters which we need because the aircraft is produced in a civilian form. For attack, however, there’s a greater challenge as we need
Apache helicopters which is a fighting machine. We have to proceed carefully, but I believe we’ve identified our source and can take time to agree the price and delivery.

‘Regarding less expensive equipment, we have no difficulty in acquiring personal arms and ammunition. It’s quite straightforward to source the armoured cars, also the fleet of
military Land Rovers which will give us mobility.

‘One other word about personnel. We need engineers and technicians, some of them highly skilled. The most critical are for the aircraft and I’m recruiting them through Sebastien
Mantel as part of the fighting force. For the remainder, to cover the vehicles, generators, bulldozers, forklifts and the like, we can find them quite easily on the open market and they’ll be
managed as part of the support team.

‘Training. I have established a base in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. This is a remote area and none too friendly in climate, culture or inhabitants. This is fine for Zero. We can
look after ourselves and be left alone. The terrain and the heavy bush country give us ample scope for constructing buildings and city layout for assault practice. With the heat and humidity,
it’s a tough environment: become physically fit there and you’ll be flying in West Africa. It can only add to our security that PNG is so far from our actual destination. It will be a
discreet location at which to embark our force when the moment comes.

‘This brings me to engagement. My force will travel by sea. We already own the vessel which is currently in Pakistan. Next July, she will leave her dry dock and proceed in ballast with a
skeleton crew south and east, calling at ports in Indonesia and the Philippines at which she will be embarking fuel, aircraft and vehicles. All this will take time which is the best way of avoiding
unwelcome attention. She will then steam on to New Guinea, to a very small harbour which I have identified. Loading will be slow and tricky, but worth the effort for security and we will be
training for this part of the operation.

‘In just over a year’s time, we’ll be slipping out of New Guinea waters, complete with crew and full complement of the Zero Strike Force. We’ll steam south through the
Coral Sea, then down the east coast of Australia, round past Tasmania and out across the Southern Ocean. As we pass the Cape of Good Hope and move into the South Atlantic, we will make contact with
the other elements of the task force of which David will tell you more. I expect a final couple of days at sea with aircraft preparation and other details before we move in on the morning of 1st
January 2000.’

David moved in quickly.

‘I’m sure you’ll have questions for Fergus but first, I’d like to bring in Hugh. He will talk to us about finance and his initiatives which have produced an additional
benefit. Hugh.’ Dundas pushed his chair back, rose onto his large feet and commenced a slow walk around the room, speaking as he went.

‘Please excuse me. I’m just feeling a little cramped and a circuit or two will help.

‘Now, money. Obviously, this is an expensive operation and like most budgets, ours has got bigger as time’s gone by. It’s difficult to quantify and we simply must not be
underfunded. I can promise you all, that’s not going to happen, but we’ve had to increase our valuation considerably since Fergus, Felix and I started to work it through. As a round
figure, the total required for Zero, including a 20% reserve for contingencies, now stands at five billion US dollars.’

There were gasps around the table which coincided with Hugh regaining his seat. He sat at ease and let his gaze drift over them before he resumed.

‘Please don’t be alarmed. It is a large figure, but quite possible to achieve. Let me explain. There are three elements to the finance plan and the first is the Zero cash account. We
are already drawing down on this to meet the costs which Fergus has incurred to date, but it started with a fund of about 1.2 billion US. A quarter came through The Mansion House Charity which is
in the personal control of David and Martin but really, it’s David’s money. The remainder is my own contribution which I have accrued over time through liquidating investments.
I’ve moved slowly to avoid unwelcome interest in my activities. It helped that I was not only trading stocks and securities but also investments in kind, so for example, I’ve just sold
two properties, one being a ranch in Wyoming. It’s a fine place which I took in satisfaction of a debt but now the fortunes of the previous owner have recovered and he was pleased to buy it
back in cash and at a decent profit.

‘All this money was paid into my bank in the British Virgin Islands, and incidentally, it really is my bank which matters because I can guarantee absolute security of information.

‘Now for the other two elements on which I am moving forward concurrently. The first is a charity which is entirely genuine in its endgame but also has a prior purpose. Having conceived
the idea, I refined it through discussion with David and Martin. The end result my own charitable foundation and I have given it a name. It’s called Orphans of Africa.

‘I have brought with me copies of the prospectus. As you’ll see later, the foundation targets the tragic circumstances of children and young people across Africa between the ages of
five and twenty-five. Through war, refugee displacement, disease and especially AIDS, they are abandoned in their millions to struggle on alone except in each other’s company, living
perilously close to the breadline, quite unprepared and uneducated to take on the mantle of next generation Africans. They are reproducing themselves in numbers and circumstances which can only
make matters worse.

‘Orphans of Africa has been established to provide a framework of help with housing, sustenance, education and training. The plan is for Orphans to grow exponentially over the next twenty
years so that the continent can reverse the tide of deprivation. We have set up a management operation to get things moving. A Malaysian is running it, an excellent man, and to suit him we’ve
taken offices in Kuala Lumpur.

‘The main effort, both his and mine, is to gain commitment for funding. I have started Orphans with $100 million, but we will soon start advertising for donors. We also need some serious
investment from world organisations and we are now concentrating on two sources in particular. First, there’s the United Nations in the form of several of its agencies such as UNICEF, the
Children’s Fund and UNDP which is concerned with infrastructure development. In addition, we are pushing hard for money from the European Union, specifically the European Development Fund or
EDF: the former colonial powers are awash with cash and conscience. We can use the latter to get at the former.

‘Fundraising from any source always takes time, but providing we keep plugging away at it, I’m confident we can swell the coffers of Orphans to 1.3 billion, including what’s
promised by international agencies. During the next year, we’ll be starting to spend the money on Zero.’

Pente interrupted vigorously, ‘but that’s pure deception, Hugh, it’s robbery!’

‘You’re right, Pente. It’s exactly that. And there’s worse to come, but hear me out and I believe you’ll be satisfied.’

He did not wait for further comments before continuing.

‘The third and most productive element goes under the name of Dundas Securities. This is a fund which I have created for international investments and I have chosen the title deliberately
because I want to maximise the appeal of my name. Through track record and reputation, a fair proportion of the world’s most wealthy have come to see me as a reliable guide to making the most
of their money. I’m not mincing my words here and I make no apology. This is an asset of which I’m taking full advantage. I’m targeting here those around the globe with assets
numbered in hundreds of millions, including individuals who have not generated their own wealth but are the beneficiaries of family fortunes.

‘Dundas Securities is established in Hong Kong. I have invested in it some of my cash from the BVI Bank and I’m using this to pay a dividend which comfortably exceeds the performance
of any competitor. The results are published, of course, their excellence has attracted a following. The target clientele is enthusiastic for this new Fund and is encouraging a second division of
investors. Now this technique for attracting capital is a fraud. It’s a Ponzi scheme, in this case using my money to pay dividends which could not, in reality, be achieved.

‘It is true that we are acting dishonestly, but it is the only way in which we can meet our objectives within the required timescale. Please be reassured however. Investors in Dundas
Securities will reap a very fair reward through the issue of government bonds from our new state and donors to Orphans of Africa will see their money spent as intended, although the process will be
delayed.

‘Finally, I make a commitment to you. Should disaster strike and Zero fail, then the financial burden will be mine to bear alone. That’s the deal. I am Zero’s banker, and I
carry the can.’

David was not surprised to pick up the adverse body language around the table as Hugh concluded. Pente, King and Martin in particular, but Ruth also. Perhaps Hugh could have been more gentle
with them, but the bulk of the money and all the commitment was his. If there was another way to do it, they didn’t have the knowledge and they didn’t have the time.

He needed to take control and said,

‘Thank you Hugh. We’ll come back to this, but I want you all to hear a final piece of scene setting from me. Do you remember that I posed the question earlier, how do you put a
strike force in place without advertising its arrival?

‘Well it’s Hugh who found the solution while he was addressing a completely different problem. He created Orphans of Africa to give us funding, but Orphans will provide us also with
Zero’s coup de maître — our master stroke.

‘Look. The genuine aspiration for Orphans is that it will grow to embrace all of Africa. It’s a brilliant concept which will provide a life line to millions of young Africans.
That’s what will happen. But the first port of call for the charity will be the landing ground for Zero. That is a subterfuge. I acknowledge the fact but it carries great benefits. It helps
us to prepare ourselves in secret and to arrive without warning. That will dramatically reduce opposition which will save lives and bloodshed. And in addition, we can start right now to advertise
Orphans of Africa worldwide.

‘I can sense your concerns and I know there’s more to debate but let’s look first at the rest of the plan. To win a welcome, Zero must make a difference to the people of the
country, a total and mind zapping impact. We need to bring immediate benefits which can be recognised on the very day of our arrival.