No taxes, Nicholas/ he smiled, And look at the view. The picturesque
buildings of Hamilton town were painted in candy colours, strawberries
and limes, plum and lemon and across the bay the cedar trees stood tall
in the sunlight, and the yachts from the pink-painted clubhouse spread
multicoloured sails across green waters. It's better than London in
winter, isn't it?
The same temperature/ said Nicholas, and glanced up at the
air-conditioning.
I'm a hot-blooded man/ Bernard explained, and when his tall nubile
secretary entered to his ring, bearing the Ocean Salvage files like a
high priestess carrying the sacrament, Bernard fell into an awed
silence, concentrating all his attention on her pneumatic bosoms; they
bounced and strained against the laws of gravity as though filled with
helium.
She flashed a dazzling, painted smile at Nicholas as she placed the
files on Bernard's desk, and then she left with her perfectly rounded
buttocks under the tightly tailored skirt, swinging and dancing to a
distant music. She can type too/ Bernard assured Nick with a sigh, and
shook his head as if to clear it, He opened the top file.
Right/he began. The deposit from Christy Marine The money had come in,
and only just in time. The next instalment on Sea Witch was already
forty-eight hours overdue and Atlantique were becoming highly agitated.
Son of a gun/ said Bernard. You would not think six million was an easy
sum of money to get rid of, would you? You don't even have to try/ Nick
agreed. It just spends itself. Then with a scowl, What's this? They've
invoked the escalation clause again, another 3 + 106 % 'Sea Witch's
builders had included a clause that related the contract price to the
index cost of steel and the Union labour rates. They had avoided the
threatened dockyard strike by capitulating to Union demands, and now the
figures came back to Nicholas. They were big fat ugly figures. The
clause was a festering canker to Nicholas draining his strength and
money.
They worked on through the afternoon, paying, paying and paying. Bunkers
and the other running costs of Warlock, interest and capital repayments
on the debts of Ocean Salvage, lawyers fees, agents fees, the six
million whittled away. One of the few payments that gave Nicholas any
pleasure was the 121/2% salvage money to the crew of Warlock. David
Allen's share was almost thirty thousand dollars, Beauty Baker another
twenty-five thousand - Nick included a note with that cheque, Have a
Bundaberg on me! Is that all the payments? Nicholas asked at last.
Isn't it enough,' It's enough. Nick felt groggy with jet-lag and from
juggling with figures. What's next? Good news, next. Bernard picked up
the second file. I think I've squared Esso. They hate you, they have
threatened never to use your tugs again, but they are not going to sue.
Nicholas had breached contract when he deserted the Esso tow and ran
south for Golden Adventurer; the breach of contract suit had been
hanging since then, It was a relief to have it aside. Bernard Wackie
was worth every penny of his hire. Okay. Next? It went on for another
six unbroken hours, piled on top of the jet-lag that Nicholas had
accumulated across the Atlantic.
