Chapter61 November1984

　　　“Castillo told Al..:” Takano-san continued with his story. “The assistant manager got strongly shocked when he heard from one of his neighbors that Al had been assaulted and injured: ..Shocked because he hadn’t believed that the company he had been working for would take such an uncivilized action: ..Because he had been wishing that the company wouldn’t do anything like that: So, when he saw Martinez in the warehouse the following morning, he was very reluctant to talk about the attack that allegedly had happened the previous night:
　　　“Well, there was no need for Castillo to broach such a subject: As soon as he found Castillo, Martinez ordered his assistant to watch Al’s movement even more carefully than before: So, pretending having no knowledge of the attack at all, Castillo asked his boss why he had to: Without any sign of conscience, the boss answered to his assistant that they had had Al assaulted, and added that that’s why he wanted to see if the farm foreman had received their message as they had intended to give him.”
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　　　“Trina, according to Castillo, this is how the Navarro Metals decided to have Al attacked, and it may need several minutes for me to relate it to you: After receiving the report from Castillo that Al had been trying to buy off some of Navarro Metals employees, Martinez pondered for a while on how to react to that new development: And, about one hour later, he reached the conclusion that the situation had worsened for his company to the extent he could no longer control it, that is, that it would be wiser for him to ask for the direction of Mr. Navarro of Navarro Trading -the president of the Navarro Metals at the same time- than to use his own discretion to do something about it: Needless to say, Martinez knew very well that Navarro -the president- would get furious at Martinez who had allowed such an accident to occur in his company’s premises, who had made it hard for the company to keep the illegal use of acid concealed within it: However, Martinez thought, it would be better, or he would look somewhat better, if he himself reported to the president that the use of the acid had already been revealed to the public than if Al sought the meeting with the president and told him in person that the farm foreman had come to know about it through the accident:
　　　“Martinez ordered Castillo to accompany him, and visited Navarro Metals’ headquarters in Makati with him, and finally reported to Navarro what had happened in Zapote: As Martinez had anticipated or feared, the president got mad extremely, initially: He scolded Martinez with the harshest words that it was very critical breach of duty for the operating manager not only to have failed to keep the vacant lot under careful vigilance but also not to have reported to the president such an accident for many days: Navarro yelled to Martinez, ‘Well, more importantly, what would you do if the authorities get to know about the illegal operation? And, as the result, Toukai retreats from this venture?’ And then, the president declared that, if things turned that way, he would have Martinez compensate all the loss the Navarro Trading suffered, even if it took whole his life:
　　　“Martinez was scared to death: However, to be fortunate for the manager, Navarro’s anger didn’t last very long: The president abruptly murmured, as if telling himself, ‘Wait a minute..’:
　　“Martinez held his breath, waiting his boss’ next words: And the president said, ‘This incident could be used in our favor’: Martinez quizzically kept his eye on the president: Castillo did the same: The president went on, ‘It has passed one year already since we started this venture, right?’ Martinez responded, ‘That’s right, Mr. Navarro’: The president said, ‘No matter how outrageous Toukai is, it may no longer be able to withdraw from this venture so easily as it has insisted it could, don’t you think?’ Martinez nodded: Navarro went on, ‘Toukai surely has a huge amount of scrap metals under contract in Los Angeles, which it has to purchase sooner or later. And, as a matter of fact, the amount of money they have invested in this venture is much larger than ours beyond comparison. That means, they, too, can’t retreat from this venture any longer. Well, there may be a way that I can take advantage of this incident and force the Japanese company to furnish the acid-neutralizing apparatus right away, not one year later from now’: Having heard that, Martinez grinned for the first time during the day.”
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　　　“Navarro -the president- made an oversees call to the Toukai in person: And the man who talked with Navarro through an interpreter was, Trina, a vice president of the scrap metal recycling company. Well, there was no way for me to know if this vice president had been the same one I had met in Los Angeles three years ago, though.” Takano-san said and smiled a little wryly. “Whoever he was, Trina, seemingly, now they had an employee, at least, who spoke English.”
　　　I nodded to Takano-san.
　　　He went on. “Having been told of Ruben’s burn and Al’s persistent effort to get informed about it, the vice president initially became somewhat panicky: Indeed, Navarro observed, the incident could be used as a good tool for his negotiation with the Japanese company on the acid-neutralizing apparatus, which he intended to bring up next: At least, that’s what Navarro sensed initially:
　　　“So, half expecting Toukai’s answer, like, that it would furnish the apparatus as soon as it could, Navarro asked the vice president what measure his company wanted to take: However, the vice president’s answer wasn’t like what Navarro had expected: His answer, instead, was that the Toukai had never been involved in any legal issue in the Philippines, thus, he believed, this kind of matter would be handled much better by a Philippine company:
　　　“Navarro didn’t appreciate this answer: He felt he was being forced to take whole responsibility for the incident: So, he dared to say to the vice president that they wouldn’t have had this mess had they furnished such apparatus in the first place: The vice president wasn’t impressed at all with this remark, however: All he responded to Navarro was that the Japanese company would keep its promise to the Navarro Trading that it would build the apparatus two years later as their contract clearly stated one year earlier:
　　　“Navarro reacted with a cynical tone that he had no idea on how to handle this kind of situation since he had never broken any law in the Philippines as an entrepreneur despite the vice president’s opinion that this kind of matter would be handled much better by a Philippine company:
　　　“The vice president’s answer didn’t come back right away: He sounded to be talking with somebody at the other end of the line: And it was a few minutes later that, through the interpreter, the vice president finally directed Navarro this way: Consult Meiwa’s Makati office since, the vice president believed, the Philippine affiliate of the giant Japanese trading company must be well familiar with all kinds of business troubles that had occurred in the country, and therefore, it could provide them with very helpful ideas:
　　　“And then, the vice president told Navarro of the name of the person he should meet at Meiwa’s Makati office. ..As you may be guessing right, Trina, the name Navarro received from Toukai’s vice president was Yoshida’s -the office’s nonferrous section manager.”
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　　　“Although he hadn’t accomplished his goal to have the Toukai furnish the acid-neutralizing apparatus sooner, Navarro was satisfied for the time being with the fact that he had had the Toukai take the initiatives on how to keep their illegal operation in the warehouse concealed: For he calculated that, in case things turned out wrong for them, the bigger responsibility the Toukai was obligated to take for the matter the more strongly the Navarro Trading would be able to voice its opinion against the Japanese company in the future.
　　　“So, Navarro ordered Martinez to call up Meiwa’s Makati office and make an appointment with Yoshida. ..Needless to mention, Trina, Yoshida was no longer there, though.
　　　“Navarro wasn’t surprised that Toukai’s vice president had had no knowledge of Yoshida’s transfer to the Middle East since, as we already know, Trina, the Toukai completely had cut its relationship with Yoshida and Meiwa’s Makati office. ..Right after using him and the office for its own convenience three years before.
　　　“And at Meiwa’s Makati office the following day, it was Kodama-san -Yoshida’s successor- who met Navarro and Martinez, and Castillo who was ordered to accompany them because he was believed to be most informed about what had been happening in Zapote.
　　　“To start with, Navarro explained to Kodama-san how the Navarro Metals had been established three years earlier: And then, he told Yoshida’s successor enthusiastically of the fact that the Navarro Metals still was importing shredded scrap metals though Meiwa’s Los Angeles’ office: For he believed that the more Kodama-san came to know about the good relationship between the Meiwa and the Navarro Trading the more useful ideas the new nonferrous section manager would willingly offer him:
　　　“Kodama-san reacted differently from what Navarro had expected, however: Without being surprised or impressed, Kodama-san responded to Navarro like this: ‘Well, as a matter of fact, Mr. Navarro, I was going to call your company soon because I had accidentally found, when I had a chance to talk with one of my colleagues in Los Angeles office by phone, that your company and mine had had such an intimate relationship. Well, I believed, Mr. Navarro, Meiwa’s Makati office deserved to share with your Navarro Trading the handling of those scrap metals which are currently imported from U.S. to the Philippines and exported to Japan from the Philippines exclusively by you, Navarro Trading. And, considering about how the Navarro Metals was established, which you just finished explaining to me, it’s kind of hard for us to accept the fact that Meiwa’s Makati office has been totally disregarded in the transaction.”
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　　　“According to what Navarro told Martinez and Castillo later..: Navarro wasn’t prepared to be confronted with such demand by Kodama-san: The president of both the Navarro Trading and the Navarro Metals immediately became suspicious that there might have been dirty talks between two Japanese companies -Toukai and Meiwa- on how to take advantage of the Philippine companies in a big trouble.
　　　“Navarro was said to have reasoned this way: Toukai’s vice president must’ve called Meiwa’s Makati office by himself after mistakenly telling Navarro to consult with Yoshida: And the vice president was told that Yoshida had been transferred to Riyadh: So, the vice president explained to Kodama-san, who finally answered the phone call, under what circumstances Navarro was going to seek a meeting with Kodama-san: The vice president had to tell Kodama-san even what relationship the Toukai, the Meiwa and the Navarro Trading had had three years earlier: And then, the vice president asked Kodama-san to offer Navarro a couple of ideas that would help Navarro get out of his current difficult situation: Kodama-san agreed to figure out such ideas for Navarro, but he was very unhappy, on the other hand, with the fact that Meiwa’s Makati office had been totally eliminated from the trilateral international business: The vice president had anticipated that Meiwa’s Makati office would express its strong displeasure about such elimination: So the vice president suggested Kodama-san to demand some concession from the Navarro Trading upon handling commission for importing and exporting of the scrap metals to-and-from the Philippines: Well, the vice president surely knew, his company -Toukai- wouldn’t sacrifice anything even if the Navarro Trading had to surrender to the Meiwa some portion of its business or handling commission.”
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　　　“But, Trina, I don’t think Navarro guessed all right. Because it was clearly before I visited Zapote, that is, many days before Al began trying to buy off some of Navarro Metals’ employees, that Kodama-san abruptly called up Yoshida in Riyadh and asked about his knowledge of the Navarro Metals, wasn’t it? That means, Trina, Kodama-san had already been aware of the relationship between the Meiwa and the Navarro Trading, as well as of the existence of the Navarro Metals, for sure, a few days before Navarro’s phone call to Toukai to discuss about how to react to Al’s movement. Kodama-san didn’t need to hear about such relationship from Toukai’s vice president because he already knew about it. So I believe, Trina, that Kodama-san was actually going to call the Navarro Trading. The successor of Yoshida had a good enough reason all by himself to demand the Navarro Trading some concession. Look, Trina, just Yoshida had me in Los Angeles, it wasn’t very unnatural that Kodama-san had his own friend right there. So it wasn’t unlikely at all, either, even if the friend of Kodama-san had come to know about the scrap metals being exported from Los Angeles to the Philippines, and about the fact that the handling agent of the imported scrap metals in the Philippines wasn’t Meiwa’s Makati office, was it? It isn’t too difficult for you to guess that the friend in L.A. office might’ve told Kodama-san of all those things, is it, Trina?
　　　“And if my supposition like that isn’t off the mark, Trina, when Navarro sought an emergent meeting with Kodama-san, the successor of Yoshida may have even assumed that Yoshida had successfully persuaded Navarro to visit Meiwa’s Makati office to exchange some greeting with Kodama-san and to tell him that the Navarro Trading would concede to Meiwa’s Makati office some portion of the handling privilege of the scrap metals, in and out. ..Kodama-san may even have been very happy to have bothered to call up Yoshida in Riyadh several days earlier.”
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　　　“No matter what suspicion was on Toukai’s vice president, Navarro couldn’t afford to loose his calm: He insisted that, as for the trilateral international business, he had a huge trouble he had to solve right away, before discussing about the handling commission of the scrap metals or else: And, before Kodama-san opened his mouth, Navarro began his explanation on what was the huge trouble, although he was convinced that Kodama-san had already been fully informed by the Toukai about the incident the warehouse’s illegal use of acid had brought out.
　　　“By the way, Trina, to the eye of Castillo, who was compelled to accompany Navarro and Martinez, Kodama-san looked a little eccentric: Actually, Castillo was surprised when he saw Kodama-san begin smiling happily, before doing anything else, right after Navarro’s explanation about his trouble had ended: ..Smiling as if the Meiwa’s nonferrous section manager were very proud of the fact that a local Philippine company was desperately seeking his idea on such a delicate matter:
　　　“Kodama-san didn’t take particularly long a time to figure out his idea: For a start, he told Navarro solemnly, ‘From my own experience, I deeply believe in this: There is no problem on the globe that money can’t solve. So, why don’t you, Mr. Navarro, hand some money to the man?’
　　　“Navarro patiently kept listening to Kodama-san though he had gotten very disappointed with such a commonplace idea: Kodama-san continued, ‘You’ll be forced to face government officials if this thing once gets known to the public: Well, you want to avoid paying them any money even if you want them to keep their eyes closed on this matter, because such kind of tactics usually cost you most. ..Especially, in a country like this, very poor.., well, under developing, those government officials tend to be very greedy.’
　　　“Navarro couldn’t keep his mouth shut any longer: He said, ‘That’s why we seriously want to solve this problem before it gets revealed to the public. And, as I’ve explained to you, Mr. Kodama, the man has enough money to try to buy off some of my employees. So, I’m not sure if the man will easily accept our money.’
　　　“Kodama-san didn’t falter at all with Navarro’s response: According to Castillo, Kodama-san, without being ashamed at all, plainly about-faced: ‘Well, ..except for the cases in which blackmailers like the man who can manage to use such sly tactics are involved. Matter of fact, it is absolute folly for anybody to easily hand any money to such a man. If you do, you make the matter worsened for you. Moreover, in a country like this, if people come to know that the man obtained some money so easily from you, you can’t deny the possibility that some of them, trying to copy the man’s success, may want to extort reparation, or whatever like that, from you, even by intentionally throwing their children into the ponds at somebody’s backyard.’”
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　　　If I was not mistaken, what was expressed on Takano-san’s face at that moment was a deep hatred for a Kodama-san. Nonetheless, his voice remained calm. “Castillo told Al..: Although Navarro was skeptical that somebody would throw his or her child into his ponds, the president of the Navarro Metals himself had been afraid that some people might become copycats of Al and try to extort some money from his company by doing some other unforeseeable things: But it wasn’t very pleasant for Navarro to be scornfully suggested such possibilities by Kodama-san, a foreigner: Navarro kept himself patient, though, and said, ‘So, Mr. Kodama?’
　　　“Kodama-san had no interest at all in how Navarro might be feeling about his comment: The nonferrous section manager said, ‘Well, as for some kind of trouble, especially a case like this where such a crafty extortionist is involved, I’ve once been taught by one of my seniors in my company, who had worked in many under-developing countries, that the use of force sometimes could solve our trouble much more easily than the use of money.’ At that very moment, Castillo saw, Kodama-san was even chuckling.”
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　　　“Navarro had already extracted the useful idea from the Meiwa. He returned to the Navarro Trading in Makati with Martinez and Castillo, and made his second phone call to the Toukai to tell what he had been suggested by Meiwa’s Kodama-san: The vice president of the Toukai reacted very quickly, if the time for translation was disregarded, as if he had been anticipating such suggestion would surely come out from Kodama-san: He said to Navarro, ‘That may be a very good idea. ..Do you have any connection?’
　　　“Navarro later confessed to Martinez and Castillo like this: The president of the Navarro Trading and the Navarro Metals no longer cared even if the Toukai and Meiwa’s Makati office had had secret conversation, no matter what, prior to his visit to Kodama-san: He didn’t get mad at the attitude of the Toukai’s vice president who virtually believed that any Philippine company must have such connection with the people who could put their force for sale to anybody: For Navarro, it was the Toukai, through Kodama-san, who had chosen the use of force as a measure to stop Al’s movement and shut him up: Navarro was merely a man who had to act exactly as the Toukai had suggested:
　　　“Navarro was happy that he hadn’t given the Toukai any reason for the Japanese company to try to make him accept unfavorable business terms later on, or that he hadn’t gotten into any position where he had to take all responsibility on the matter: He replied to the vice president calmly, ‘As you know, my companies operate their businesses legally and earnestly. So, needless to say, I don’t have any such connection. But, if that’s a very good idea for you, I’ll try to find it.’
　　　“Before the vice president opened his mouth, Navarro hang up: And he kept staring alternately at the faces of Martinez and Castillo for a while: The operating manager of the warehouse and his assistant knew what conclusion the conversation between their boss and Toukai’s vice president had reached. ..Without any hesitation, Navarro ordered Martinez to find a gang of scoundrels or something in some skid row in Manila.”