The Money Is Green (5 page)

Jason raised his eyebrows. “It tastes very good. What more should I be doing to help out?” he asked between bites. “I’m confident we will win the Copper Mountain bid, and that will take all the solar panels you can make in a year and then some.” He raised up his hand. “Oh, I meant to ask you something. After I was finished talking to Brian Thompson at Inter-Power about the Power Purchase Agreement for Copper Mountain, I got to thinking about the land the solar farm is supposed to go on. Inter-Power doesn’t own it because it’s Bureau of Land Management land, the federal government’s property. How does that work?”

Mei picked at her salad with her fork. “You are correct. It is BLM land. But I’m a good friend of Congressman Eugene Waters from California, who has major influence at the Department of the Interior, who control all of the BLM land in the US. I funneled millions of dollars to his re-election campaign.” She winked at Jason in a knowing way. “Congressman Waters made sure Inter-Power was given a sweetheart lease that doesn’t kick in until Copper Mountain is complete. We couldn’t have written a better deal for ourselves.” Mei burst out laughing. “Except we did write it for ourselves!” She stopped laughing and became serious. “Of course, everything we did was legal.”

Jason laughed with her. She has every base covered. No wonder she’s so confident she can bury the American company, RayTech. Their own congressman is selling them out to the Chinese. I wonder what her idea of legal really is.

The main course showed up, and Jason stared at the chunks of meat and scrawny legs covered in the light-colored sauce. “It smells good,” he said without looking up from the dish. “What’s the saying? When in Rome?” He took a bite and smiled, savoring the flavors. “Mei, this is delicious.”

“I knew you would like it. You American men are so predictable. Throw some meat in a wine sauce or a marinara sauce and you think you’ve found nirvana.”

“You’re probably right,” he said, laughing. The conversation stalled for a moment while both of them sampled the various dishes around the table. Satisfied for the moment, Jason wiped his mouth with his napkin. “What about the Antelope Valley project? Is that on BLM land also? How will you get that lease?”

Mei leaned back in her chair, her head held high. “Yes, it’s also BLM land, and I have a conference call with Congressman Waters next week regarding that very subject.”

“Is there any chance someone else could get the lease?” Jason asked.

Mei’s eyes narrowed. “Let’s just say I provide many services for the congressman besides money. He likes Cuban cigars, French champagne, and Asian women. I’ve arranged many trips for him to the Far East, where he fulfills his fantasies. So no, no one else is going to get that lease other than who I direct, which will be Inter-Power.” She raised her wine glass and looked at him over the rim. “But this information is for your ears only. I know I’ve told you this before, but if you’re going to be taking a larger role in running Soltech, I need to know I have your complete confidence.”

Jason smiled. “Of course, Mei. I completely understand.” This congressman seems like a real slime ball, Jason thought. But if history repeats itself, I bet it’s a matter of time before he gets caught. He paused and picked at his food for a moment, considering whether to ask about his concerns with safety at the plant. He didn’t like the idea of making money off the backs of people’s misery.

He cleared his throat. “Mei, when I was at the solar plant today, I couldn’t help but notice that it seems a little dangerous for some of the workers. Is it possible to make the production goals you’ve set but at the same time keep the workers safe? It would be horrible publicity if someone were to die in the process of making our panels when a little bit of prevention could make it safer.”

Mei laughed. “You Americans are amazing, always worrying about worker safety. Workers die at the factory once in a while. It’s a fact of life and it’s part of the cost of doing business!” She paused and put her napkin to her lips. “Look, Jason, the Chinese people are not like the American people. We are very different than you.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “Have you ever heard of the Long March in regard to Chinese history?”

Jason shook his head.

“Well let me educate you for a minute. In October of 1934, three hundred thousand Chinese of the Red Army under the command of Moa Se-Tung were being pursued by the Kuemintang, the Chinese National Party under the rule of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek. To be caught meant death.” She paused to let her words sink in.

“The Red Army left Jiangai province and traveled six thousand miles by foot and by donkey over some of the highest mountain peaks and hottest desert in China. They marched for a full year, fighting and trying to stay alive. Of the original three hundred thousand that started, two hundred thousand died. To the Chinese, death is part of life, as is suffering to achieve one’s goals. There was a small band of women that went with the Red Army on the march, and one of those women was my great-grandmother.”

“Your great-grandmother made that trip?” Jason asked incredulously.

“That’s correct. That’s also why my husband is so high up in the Communist Party. My grandmother was very close to Chairman Mao and stood with him through thick and thin. She and my family were rewarded for their loyalty. We Chinese understand hard work and
tough situations. When I was growing up, I always was pushed and I pushed myself to work hard, to be the best. We always push forward. We do not concern ourselves with niceties in our workplaces.”

Jason took a sip of water. “That’s an impressive story, Mei. I guess I’ll have to get used to our cultural differences.” He gave her a slight smile. It doesn’t mean I’ll agree with them, just that I’ll understand who I’m dealing with better. I didn’t realize how ruthless Mei can be when she wants to get something.

F
IVE

C
ongressman Eugene Waters leaned back in his leather chair, his hands behind his head as he listened half-heartedly to his aid, John Clayton, going over a series of bills being introduced that morning on the floor of Congress. Behind him hung framed pictures of himself and a smiling President Obama shaking hands at the ribbon cutting of the RayTech plant in Fremont. There were numerous other photos of him at various events as he performed his duties as a United States congressman. His diploma from the University of California at Berkley hung in the middle of the wall surrounded by the pictures. An oak credenza held some golf trophies and other pictures of his attractive wife and two children at different family functions.

As a tall, athletic black man, he had a friendly smile and an easy disposition that disarmed even his staunchest critics. Ever since his political science days at Berkeley, he had always found politics intriguing and figured out quickly that the smart money was in pushing the renewable energy field, especially in Northern California. He was the driving force behind RayTech’s successful bid to get the five-hundred-million-dollar loan guarantee, which allowed them to
build the large plant in the South Bay area of northern California and to start production of solar panels, employing thousands of new people in the process.

He was not known as a zealot in the renewable field but was sure to get as much money as possible out of the federal government for green energy projects. The trillion-dollar stimulus package passed in 2009 was a godsend to many of his pet projects, particularly RayTech and the Copper Mountain solar farm. John, sitting on the chair in front of his desk, continued reading a bill out loud that was coming up for a vote. As he listened to John drone on, his thoughts drifted to his upcoming trip to Malaysia. Officially, it was a fact-finding trip about ways to harness methane gas from cows and other animals and for him to tour a newly complete biofuel plant in Singapore, but in reality he was going to do a few whirlwind stops and then head to Bali to party like a college kid on spring break.

He closed his eyes and thought about the last trip he’d taken to Jakarta. The thought of himself and the two naked women cavorting in the hot tub at his villa made him absently rub his thighs.

His thoughts abruptly came back to the present when he heard his secretary call out from the front office, “Madam Chen is on line one for you, Congressman. Would you like me to take a message for you?”

He leaned forward and shouted back, “No, I’ll take it!” He nodded to the door, and John took the hint and left the room. Waters waited until he was sure the door had clicked shut and then grabbed the phone receiver. “Madam Chen, how is my favorite China doll?”

Mei laughed on the other end. “Oh, Congressman Waters, you are such a rascal. Do you flatter every woman you talk to?”

Waters laughed with her. “Of course not, just the very pretty ones. What can I do for you today?”

“I wanted to discuss the lease of the BLM land for the upcoming Antelope Valley solar farm in the Mojave Desert. As you know, the project is set to be on the two thousand one hundred acres BLM has identified and the request for proposals is out. Inter-Power is preparing
their response, but I want to make sure we can cut a similar deal as we did for the Copper Mountain project.”

Waters studied the back of his hands and lowered his voice. “The Copper Mountain project created a big crap storm due to the fact that some of the most influential contractors got beat out by a relative unknown in Inter-Power. There will be a lot more eyes on this auction than before. I have to be careful with what I recommend and how hard I push my sources in the Department of the Interior. I don’t need a congressional investigation into improprieties of solar farms on federal land.”

Mei sighed. “Okay, so what do we need to do to secure the lease for Inter-Power?”

Standing up from his desk, Waters moved over to the window looking out over the Capital Mall. “There’s a couple of things I’d like to see done, and if you can accomplish those for me, I’ll do everything in my power to steer the lease your way, provided Inter-Power makes some changes to their proposal. I’ll get you what I need to have changed in the proposal and you can get them to Inter-Power to correct.” He paused for a second and cleared his throat. “I’ve got a tough re-election coming up in 2010 and I’m going to need money—a lot of it. I need for you to bundle around fifteen million and put it into my campaign fund.”

“No problem,” Mei answered matter-of-factly. “What else?”

“There’s an office building in my district that needs restoration. I want you to buy it, fix it up, lease it to me, and then give me an option to buy it once I leave Congress. At a cut rate, of course.”

“Okay, get me the address and any other details I might need to know about it. What else?”

He walked back to his desk and picked up the picture of his wife and kids. “One last thing: As you know, I’m heading to Malaysia in two weeks. After all the dog and pony shows, I’m going to end up in Bali. I want our mutual friend who’s helped me in the past to get me a nice villa on the beach and provide some entertainment while I
unwind.” He smiled as he set the picture down on the credenza. “Can you make that happen?”

“Of course,” Mei answered. “Send the dates and itinerary of your trip to my personal assistant and she’ll handle it. I’ll make sure Inter-Power writes their proposal as you want it and gets it out by Friday. How long will it be before we find out that Inter-Power won the lease?”

“You’ll know in a week, but the rest of the world won’t hear until two months.” He sat back at his desk and started doodling on a notepad. “If there are any hiccups, I’ll let you know, but I doubt there will be any.”

“Thank you, Congressman. It’s always a pleasure working with you,” Mei said sweetly.

“Before you go, how is Copper Mountain coming along?” he asked. “I haven’t heard anything in a couple of weeks. Did you get the contract and everything else, and is everything all in order?”

Mei sighed. “No, we haven’t officially got it, but I think we’re getting closer. We’re trying to figure out the logistics of flying all the solar panels and all the other materials to the United States.”

“Where do you think you might send them? Somewhere in California?”

“No, there’s too much red tape with the government in California. We’re going to fly them to Steadman Airport outside Reno and store them in a warehouse there until we’re ready to use them at the solar farm.” She paused for a second. “You don’t happen to know any companies that are in need of getting their cargo to China, do you? Once my planes offload the solar panels in Reno, they’ll be flying back to China empty. I could make a good deal for someone if they need their goods shipped back there.”

Waters squinted, thinking hard. “Not off the top of my head I don’t, but I’ll be happy to ask around for you.”

“Thank you, Eugene, you’re the best.”

“And you know you’re my favorite China doll, Mei.” He smiled as he hung up and wrung his hands together excitedly. I can’t wait for this trip to Bali!

His assistant, John, knocked and then stuck his head in the half-opened door. “Congressman Chambers is on line two, sir,” he announced.

Waters waved his hands toward him. “Come on in and shut the door, John. I want you to hear this conversation.”

John came in and took a seat, laying his hands across his lap.

Congressman Waters hit the speaker button and then bellowed in a serious tone, “Congressman Chambers, what can I do for you?” He tried to suppress a smile, but was unable.

A grunt came through the speaker as the other man cleared his throat. “Well, my appropriations bill is being heard on the floor next week and will be voted on the next day. We’ve talked about it before, but I wanted to confirm that I can count on your coalition of twenty congressmen and women to support me.”

Waters paused for a second, letting the silence hang thick in the air. “Oh, yes, Congressman, I remember our conversation and I’ve read your bill. It’s very thoughtfully put together. I’m leaning, as is the balance of the coalition, on giving it our support.” He leaned in toward the speaker. “However, there is a favor I would like to ask of you.”