Outstanding Subject
Part 5

Vero


- See this dollar - Kotler, Minister of Treasury said. He was among with several other people that watched perform hand tricks - I will make it to disappear.

-Oh! - Exclaim someone in prophetic tone - That is not a trick: to him this is an every day event.

Mr. Paul Cameron, Executive Directive of C&L Oil co., who was part of the small auditory at the Annual Party of spring, laughed with them willingly. Then he saw Gregory Cambryas, took him by the arm, and they walked out. When approached grassland, between the magnolias and the jasmines, tenuously illuminated by two flaming streetlights. Cambryas stopped, burning with a flame of his own .He informed Cameron, in summary, of the information that he had, and how he was fixing things. And how worried he was.

- Considering everything, Gregory, I find you are relatively unharmed. With a "mea culpa" and some contrition, will leave the pay behind without any personal damage. Make sure you see to it that his explanations are believable and don't neglect anything.

- You can already imagine that I worry about my situation a little, when this comes out into the light - added Cambryas while brief greeting the invited guests.

- Greenpeace and the embassy of Argentina are threatening to put more in the press and this is one of the matters that the voter understands. One can make an entire series of handling rates and bank interests and rarely we lost votes. But the moment in that the newspapers publish the picture of a dead whale or a bird tinted by petroleum, the headache begins.

- Gregory, none of us have it entirely the way we wanted it - replied Cameron. His voice was rough, the product of a valuable Cuban Cigarette that he was smoking -
It doesn't please me that we have indemnity to the Argentinean Government and pay a fine for spraying some damned birds.... But what the hell, if this restores the trust in our company, the cost is small. But if we find, that the spill of petroleum was due to negligence of our subcontractor in charge of ship maintenance, we would publish the story, get teenagers to bath the birds, feed the whales and we will announce a change in our subcontractor company. That will put all the responsibility in Ceice Co. and will make us seem serious and sincere.

- But what if the OPA doesn't find, the arrangement that was made for the ship so that everything falls under the back of the maintenance company? There's no way to explain why those ships are even in operation.

- You worry too much, Gregory. This was as an inexplicable case. Nobody could ever determine why. With regard to the antiquity of those ships, thanks to GW we are protected. Those we are diabolically good. Above all , lawyer's apprentice that they had, Seaborn, I believe that he was called. Thanks to him, ours responsibility is limited, it's done already. Also, you know that rivalry among oil companies doesn't exist. The idea of murderous competition it arises alone is sensational in the eyes of the press and among those of publisher the are mentally weak. If you could become a cockroach in a secret meeting in the oil clique of Washington, you would understand once and for all for the one meaning of the statement "two minds but a single thought, two hearts that beat in unison", of course multiplied by twenty. The OPEP didn't leave that us destroyed, nor did the government, nor the European Union, nor the Argentinean Government, nor a stinking penguin.

- I know, the commercial antagonism is pure fantasy. The classic example, with all security, of cooperation: innumerable companies working elbow to elbow for the mutual benefit of all, that is to say for the gain of all the oil companies - said Gregory Cambryas sarcastically -. I wish it were already over.

- Be reasonable, Cambryas, these episodes don't finish in a few years. Slowly, methodically ...with appropriate measure of publication, we will be in charge of making inspections, substitutions, all that is necessary. Life and earnings will continue. The investments will be safe.

- At this time I don't worry about my investments, I worry about my neck in the political and personal perspective.

- You are protected. You're better protected than my house. Your men are the ones that risk their neck.

- Yes, they have been taking care of the matters.

- That was a dirty deed, my friend - Cameron restored cynically.

- In the life it is not always fair.

In that moment Frida, Gregory Cambryas lover, found an appropriate pause in the conversation to hug Gregory, humming into his right ear:

- Dear, take this dinosaur out of here. I am so happy to see you. Come on, let us look for somebody that can bring you a drink.

- I believe you are in good company - Cameron said while Frida, starting the task of getting Gregory a martini, made some signs to a waitress that distributed cocktails among the assistants.

- Be good and bring me a double martini, with ice and lemon, very, very dry.

- That ´s two - added Cameron- One will good, too.

Cameron advances again toward Gregory. Frida feared that the two men entangled again in a conversation and would ignore during the rest of the evening. Their conversation emanated an intrigue aura, demonstrating, the old adage about politics in Washington: they closed more treatments drinking at 6 in the afternoon, that in all the working hours.

The waitress that brought the drinks interrupted Frida's thoughts.

-Thank you - the hostess said walking toward the serious conversation - Excuses me for to interrupting gentlemen. Your martini, dear - she said, offering Gregory the martini and to Paul Cameron -his own. - Paul you look magnificent, very handsome and so sensual. If it wasn't for this Senator's presence, perhaps I would try to seduce you.

Left to crawl to the game, Cameron smiled.

-Frida, your offer is splendid, but what would we do with my wife?

- Camilla? - We are great friends. She would surely understand. I ´m inoffensive.

- I believe that was what the snake said to Cleopatra, darling.

Cameron turned to Gregory. He nodded and went to mingle among the other guests at the party. While he made his way, Cameron gave the condolence to a congress member that lost his father last week. Then continuing his path congratulated another, whose daughter had obtained a college degree. Cambryas watched him, thinking, "he balances in perfect proportion the affability and dignity with corruption, in an exact way never an exceeding in one or of other. Cambryas drank two long sips of his martini. He had already seen and heard enough.

Around him the conversations continued with the jingle of the glasses as an accompaniment "... I lost seven kilos, but then I discovered that wonderful pastry. Now I have recovered them..." "...Allegedly had not seen the red light because I was a hurry to meet with my husband, Minister of the Cabinet..." "...the Argentineans are a case isolated in Latin America, they don't understand each other..." "...We have to recognize it. The Times is interesting even in their form of falsifying those things..." "...So then I told him: if you want stupid laws on alcohol it is matter our..." "...I find Tibetans very attractive. They have certain type of men of the caverns..." "...No doubts, not for a moment, if the men were able to get pregnant there would much fewer of them... thank you, gin with water tonic..."

He saw that he was near the Congressman Peter Cynders. Although to Cambryas it was important to have to C&L Oil co in his state, it was equally so for Peter Cynders to have Ceice Co in his district

- Frida, be good and circulate without my for one minutes more - he said - Peter I have to speak about some things.

Gregory smiled at her with his mouth but not with his eyes. Frida walked away from the two men. Both watched her leave, appreciating the care that she had dedicated to her body during more than 50 years. Peter Cynders was looking even when Cambryas spoke.

- When was the last time you spoke with Ceice Co Directive.

- What? Well... today, in the afternoon. We could see the maintenance of the ship was made correctly. Everything will relapse in the ship antiquity. - Although his eyes transmitted an statement of total compassion, Cynders smiled, then he continued with seriousness - look at all that's altered by the spill and ecological consequences, and that is understandable, but it has been a single problem in a single ship. I don't see any reason for to start mourning the C&l Oil.

- Why do you say that it is due to the antiquity of the ship.

- Well, but the European commission had hit the mark, this case has happened exactly on time The European Commission made another step towards the enhancement of maritime safety in the Community waters through the adoption of a communication on the safety of the Seaborn oil-trade, to reduce the chances of accidents and pollution. Therefore, action to discourage use of old, technologically obsolete and potentially unsafe ships and to enforce and reinforce the present regulatory framework, particularly in terms of control in Community ports, can significantly help.

- It is true - restored Gregory Cambryas - but if the Rogelia will stop to the sewer, this has implications for Ceice, for negligence in the maintenance.

Cynders made a grimace - That is nonsense. C&L Oil thought that Ceice practiced one plastic surgery to Gwent Patrow to leave the breast of Pamela Anderson, that is impossible.

- I can tell to the OPA, that if they bother C&L Oil, they bother to my. Always necessary to act before it is too late.

- I'm sorry, but it seem to me that you would not want that those arrangements leaked to the press. If I were you, I would not boast of them.

- You are naive, Peter, you worry too much. The publishes didn't distinguish old ship front newer ones. What the masses understand is that petroleum was spilled on a seacoast at the end of the world and some birds and fish were killed..

Peter made a pause quite long as to request another drink. Cambryas emptied his, and did the same thing. Peter followed him into the shades of the garden.

- Gregory, it ´s a political suicide if they catch you interfering in investigation of the OPA.

- Your speak of interfering, Peter. From my point of view, I do what my voters want me to do in Washington. The officials to whom I respond don't do anything against the law, and in my opinion, they are doing excellent work. If you want, we can examine the investigations carried out until this moment together.

- At least one of your voters. - Said Peter derisively - you have careful. If the fact, that you have threatened the OPA have arrived publish, it alone could constitute a death note or... suicides note.

You wants to solve the spill of petroleum in Argentina, sends them a small mite, and that will have solved the problem. And begin to be in charge of the bad press of your department. As the cases of immigration. Last month we had that woman's history and her son's. And they happened to invent the story that her job was a brothel in Cuba and that she suffered a venereal illness. When they do something to stop the immigration, when they will understand and admit that this country needs to maintain mostly Anglo-Saxon.

- When did this discussion begin? . What does the immigration have to do with the spill of petroleum?

- It has a lot, you see. If they are as stupid as you, they will continue interfering in matters they know nothing of, instead of continuing with their responsibilities, they won't pass many generations before congress debates are developed in Italian or Chinese is President. - Cambryas became furious. - Not me. I take care of my people as needed, and yours can go to the hell.

When he turned, the first double martini made him dizzy. Then he went to look for Frida.

When the lest guest departed, Cambryas went to bed with Frida. He was irritated and more than drunk, he looked for his own climax with fury, without trying to be provoked it by Frida and without caring that she didn't have it.

part 6

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