I have considered the money - in detail. You will not get an Al rating
at Lloyd's. You will not get insurance on that hull - unless you
underwrite yourself, the same way you did with Golden Adventurer, and if
you think that's wise, just wait until I've finished with my salvage
claim. Duncan Alexander's smile twisted slowly, and blood darkened his
cheeks under the snow-tan. I do not need a Lloyd's rating, though I am
sure I could get one if I wanted it. I have arranged continental and
oriental underwriters.
She will be fully insured. Against pollution claims, also? If you
burst that bag of crude on the continental shelf of America, or Europe,
2 so they'll hit you for half a billion dollars. Nobody would
underwrite that. Golden Dawn is registered in Venezuela, and she has no
sister ships for the authorities to seize, like they did with the Torrey
Canyon. To whom will they address the pollution bill? A defunct South
American Company? No, Nicholas, Christy Marine will not be paying any
pollution bills. I cannot believe it, even of you. Nick stared at him.
You are cold-bloodedly talking about the possibility - no, the
probability - of dumping a million tons of crude oil into the sea. 'Your
moral indignation is touching. It really is. However, Nicholas, may I
remind you that this is family and house business - and you are no
longer either family or house. I fought you every time you cut a
corner/ Nick reminded him. I tried to teach you that cheap is always
expensive in the long run. You taught me? For the first time Duncan
taunted him openly. What could you ever teach me about ships or money,
and he rolled his tongue gloating around the next words, or women? Nick
made the first movement of lunging at him, but he caught himself, and
forced himself to unclench his fists at his sides. The blood sang in
his ears.
I'm going to fight you he said quietly. I'm going to fight you from
here to the maritime conference, and beyond. He made the decision in
that moment, he hadn't realized he was going to do it until then.
A maritime conference has never taken less than five years to reach a
decision restricting one of its members. By that time Golden Dawn will
belong to some Japanese, Hong-Kong-based company - and Christy Marine
will have banked two hundred million. I'll have the oil ports closed to
you By whom? Oil-thirsty governments, with lobbies of the big oil
companies? Duncan laughed lightly, he had replaced the urbane mask. You
really are out of your depth again. We have bumped heads a dozen times
before, Nicholas - and I'm still on my feet. I'm not about to fold up
to your fine threats now. After that, there was no hope that the
meeting in the panelled board room would lead to conciliation. The
atmosphere crackled and smouldered with the antagonism of the two
leading characters, so that they seemed to be the only persons on the
stage.
They sat opposite each other, separated by the glossy surface of the
rosewood table top, and their gazes seldom disengaged. They leaned
forward in their chairs, and when they smiled at each other, it was like
the silent snarl of two old dog wolves circling with hackles erect.
It took an enormous effort of self-control for Nicholas to force back
