The Windup Girl полностью

"I could simply take that, if I wanted." The Somdet Chaopraya snaps his fingers, irritated. "Just like that, and they're mine."

"All right." Anderson grimaces. All or nothing. "What if I offered you and your Kingdom my company's next iteration of U-Tex rice? Would that be a worthwhile bet? And not just the rice, but the grain before it is rendered sterile. Your people can plant it and replant it for as long as it's viable against blister rust. My life can't be worth more than that."

The room falls quiet. The Somdet Chaopraya studies him. "And to balance that risk? What is it you want if you win?"

"I want to go forward with the political project we discussed earlier. Under the same terms as we already proposed. Terms which we both know are entirely favorable to you and your Kingdom."

The Somdet Chaopraya's eyes narrow. "You're a tenacious one, aren't you? And what's to keep you from simply withholding the U-Tex you're offering, if you lose?"

Anderson smiles and waves a hand toward Carlyle. "I assume that you would have myself and Mr. Carlyle here torn apart by megodonts if we fail to make good. Would that be satisfactory?"

Carlyle laughs, his voice tinged with hysteria. "What kind of bet is that?"

Anderson doesn't take eyes away from the Somdet Chaopraya. "The only one that matters. I trust absolutely that his Excellency will be honest if I manage to surprise him. And we will place ourselves in his hands as a token of that trust. It's a perfectly reasonable bet. We're both honorable men."

The Somdet Chaopraya smiles. "I accept your bet." He laughs and claps Anderson on the back. "Surprise me farang. And good luck to you. To see you trampled would be a pleasure."

They make a strange party as they move across the city. The Somdet Chaopraya's retinue guarantees them access through checkpoints, and the surprised shouts of white shirts echo in the darkness as they realize who they are trying to halt.

Carlyle wipes his forehead with a handkerchief. "Christ, you're a crazy bastard. I should have never agreed to introduce you."

Now that the bet is made and the risk defined, Anderson is inclined to agree. The U-Tex rice offering is a real risk. Even if his handlers back the play, the finance people will fight. One lost calorie man is infinitely more replaceable than primary seedstock. If the Thais start exporting the rice, it will undercut profits for years. "It's fine," he mutters. "Trust me."

"Trust you?" Carlyle's hands are shaking. "Trust you to put me under a megodont?" He glances around. "I should just run for it."

"Don't bother. The Somdet Chaopraya gave his guards instructions. If we have second thoughts now…" He jerks his head back toward the men riding in the rickshaw behind. "They'll kill you as soon as you try to run."

A few minutes later, familiar towers rise into view.

"Ploenchit?" Carlyle asks. "Jesus and Noah, you're seriously taking the Somdet Chaopraya here?"

"Calm down. You're the one who gave me the idea."

Anderson gets down from his rickshaw. The Somdet Chaopraya and his retinue all mill before the entrance. The Somdet Chaopraya gives him a pitying look. "This is the best you can do? Girls? Sex?" He shakes his head.

"Don't be too quick to judge." Anderson indicates that they should come inside. "Please. I'm sorry that we'll have to climb the stairs. The accommodations do not befit your rank, but I assure you that the experience is worth it."

The Somdet Chaopraya shrugs and lets Anderson lead. His guards crowd close, nervous in the dark confines. The junkies and whores in the stairwells all catch sight of the Somdet Chaopraya and collapse into panicked khrabs. Word of their arrival rushes up the stairwells. The Chaopraya's guards run ahead, searching the darkness.

The doors of Soil open. Girls drop to their knees. The Somdet Chaopraya looks around himself with distaste. "This is a place you farang frequent?"

"As I said, not the finest. I am very sorry for that." Anderson beckons him. "It's this way." He strides across the room and pulls aside the curtain, revealing the inner theater.

Emiko lies on stage with Kannika kneeling over her. Men crowd around as Kannika draws out the telltale movements of the windup girl's design. Her body twitches and jerks in the light of glow worms. The Somdet Chaopraya stops short and stares.

"I thought only the Japanese had them," he murmurs.

"We found another."

Kanya starts. It's Pai, standing at her doorway. Kanya rubs her face. She was sitting at her desk, trying to write another report, waiting for word from Ratana. And now drool soaks the back of her hand and her pen leaks everywhere. Asleep. And dreaming of Jaidee who simply sits and pokes fun at all her justifications.

"Were you sleeping?" Pai asks.

Kanya rubs her face. "What time is it?"