In the Wolfs Pool Club the air was heavy. Harry Cardenez, the owner of Cardenez Electronics, was still on his knees. He no longer had his head down as he was waiting for an answer as to what the decision of the Howlers was.
In the middle of it all, a phone call of all things delayed that answer. Will couldn’t believe the audacity of the guy in the fox mask who didn’t seem much older than himself. To answer a phone call of all things, unaware who was on the other end!
Kai didn’t say much, other than a few nods here and there, as the one on the other end appeared to be doing most of the talking.
“Don’t worry, that shouldn’t be a problem. In fact, it seems like this was something that was meant to be.” Kai said as he looked over to the kneeling adult. “See you soon.”
With that the call ended, and the phone was placed on the desk. Kai placed both his hands together as he smiled. This time he wasn’t covering the bottom half of his face, which made Harry and the others wonder what news they just got.
“Mr Cardenez, it looks like you haven’t run out of luck just yet.” Kai revealed. “I like that, which means the momentum is on our side. The Howlers will agree to help you.”
Hearing this Harry’s eyes lit up, but it wasn’t the same for Will. Because even with the help of a Tier-3 gang, how much hope did they really have? There were already two Tier-3 gangs attacking them, with a Tier-2 gang wall behind it all. In truth, they would need to sacrifice a lot, and without convincing other gangs to come to their aid, there was no guarantee that they would be able to fend off these attacks, and Will’s heart was hurting imagining just how much that would cost.
“However, as you yourself are perfectly aware of, the conditions have changed compared to before.” Kai added. “We will not only help you weather the storm, but even get back at those guys, in exchange for… 51%. Not just of Cardenez Electronics, but of every venture you do in the future and with other cities. With fifty one percent it will also mean we have say to what cities you expand in, and where the business is going.”
In a way this was similar to the deal the Scatterbugs had proposed. Kai was asking for exclusivity by making sure they would have the majority vote for all future decisions, giving them final say in any business. However it was a larger chunk compared to the Scatterbugs.
“You…you…You’re taking advantage of us in this desperate situation!” Will couldn’t hold his tongue any longer. Giving up control of the company. In Will’s head they would have to give up a lot of the company, but if they had to give up this large piece of the pie, how were they supposed to rope in other gangs.
“So?” Kai admitted nonchalantly. “I think you should let your boss do the talking, as he seems to understand what my offer entails. Based on the gangs you are dealing with, the Howlers are taking a huge risk. This is essentially a gamble. After all, we will have to quite literally go to war for you to obtain those 51% of the Cardenez company. Should or we fail, the Howlers will be no more, and I’m talking about the actual lives of men, not some company. Tell me, who do you think is taking the bigger risk here?”
In truth, Kai actually felt like he could have asked for a bigger percentage of the company. He could tell how desperate Harry was. No other gang would be crazy enough to accept such a deal. In fact even he was on the fence until Gary had called.
That call just happened to be the nail in the coffin. In the end, Kai was making the best of the situation. He didn’t know how to run an electronic company and he already had enough on his plate to deal with. As long as he was able to veto major decisions that might harm their interests he was fine with it. Besides, demanding a larger chunk of the company would make the other side lose the drive they had.
Why would someone work hard for the company owning just 10% of it, while some else got 90%?
This was best for both of them in the end.
“You….have given a very fair deal.” Harry said as he stood up from his kneeling position. “I’m thankful that you have considered our position. I promise you, that we will not just stand by, and let you do this work. In this partnership we will also do our best to protect our company.
“If I have to pick up a bat myself, I will get rid of the gangsters trying to take over my company!” Harry shouted, tensing his fist. An entry could be seen in his eyes. It was fierce.
‘I can tell…this is it!’ Kai thought with excitement. ‘This is the power of a leader. Bringing him to our side will help us grow! This is exactly what we needed right now. If we allow him to proceed with his ambitions we can get to the top together.’
Kai stood up from his seat for the first time and held out his hand. “Olivia, call our lawyer and we let’s sort out the contract right here and now.”
Oliviva didn’t say anything and just pulled out her phone, while both Kai and Harry gave each other a firm handshake. A deal had been made but they needed to make it official.
When the lawyer came, the documents were drafted up, for the deal to be done, and before the deal was officially signed by both parties. Will had a look over it as well. He wasn’t just any aide or personal assistant to Harry, he came along for good reason. He was a law graduate in charge of negotiating the terms for the company.
While the lawyers were talking things over, Harry and Kai were still face to face with each other. Rather than on the floor Harry was now sitting on the chair opposite him.
“I know it might be a bit late to say this now, but the Scatterbugs…they are a big group, it will be tough.” Harry stated.
“Don’t worry, I did my research. As I said, they already came to us before, so we needed to know how bad it was if we offended them by refusing. It’s funny, one might even call it fate that you came back to us. After all, you didn’t know about the offer, you didn’t accept ours and now we are back here.” Kai smiled.
“Is…this okay?” Harry asked. “I mean, you are doing this without your leader present. He was the person I met before. I'm sure you would need to ask him, and I would like to apologise for the words I said last time.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I can assure you he supports this. Perhaps you will be able to meet him sometime soon, and you can thank him in person then.”
While the two were in the middle of conversation they were interrupted as they heard something slam against the table behind them. When looking they could see that Will had slammed a wad of papers that was the contract.
“Look right here, what is this?” Will pointed at.
“Is there something wrong?” Harry asked.
“Yes, Sir.” Will replied. “The contract. It states that 41% of the company will go to the Howlers LTD corporation.”
At first Harry raised an eyebrow. 41%. Was the man in front of him just trying to see if he was willing to accept such terms, but Kai would never be that nice.
“Then it says that 10% will belong to the Gary Dem Foundation. Why would we give 10% to a stranger. On top of that, if there was a major decision, then this person would be able to sway to one side or the other.”
Again, Harry was confused. For one, why were the Howlers willing to give 10% to a stranger. This was actually better for them. As long as the Cardenez company got him on their good side, they could either buy him out and take back control of their company at some point, or persuade him to make decisions that were in their favour rather than the Howlers.
“Ah yes, you see the Howlers have a lot to thank him for. He’s been a sort of… I guess you could call him an angel investor of sorts. A lot of improvements in Slough has been due to his money and he supports the Howlers greatly. We owe him a lot, you see, which is why we decided to repay him by including him into the deal.
“Either way, isn’t that better for you guys? This way we Howlers don’t have majority control?” Kai pointed out with a smile.
Will was perplexed because what Kai was saying was true, but judging from the smile it was as if he was hiding something. Why would they do this in their favour? Of course they didn’t know that Gary Dem was also the leader of the Howlers.
This was the start of Kai’s grand plan of spreading the name of Gary Dem, hidden business Tycoon that works closely with the Howlers.
“Okay…if you are fine with it…” Will said.
Both of the contracts were brought to the desk, and two of them signed on the dotted line. It was now set in stone.
Kai stood up from his seat and clapped his hands.
“Alright, the deal is done. Now that we own part of the Cardenez company, it's only right that we protect what's ours, right? Olivia, prepare everyone!”
*****
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