Geek Mafia: Mile Zero by Rick Dakan (reading tree txt) 📖

“YEAH, yeah, I get all the anti-corporate, anarchist bullshit. Yadda, yadda, yadda,” said Eddie. “But can you please just explain to me how the hell any of this is worth my time?”

Isaiah had outlined his plan in detail from beginning to end, just as he had for Paul. Eddie and his companion (whose name turned out to be Marco) sat quietly and listened. Marco had tried to fire up his laptop to take notes, but Amelia had asked him not to, for security’s sake. He had shrugged and shut it off, and still hadn’t said a word to anyone. Paul had watched Eddie as his attention had floated around the room, maybe listening to Isaiah, maybe not. Now he’d apparently had enough theory and wanted some practical examples. Paul didn’t blame him.

“We have a very specific plan in mind. A plan that will net each participating Crew millions of dollars.”

“And you need to form this alliance thing to pull it off ?” asked Eddie, the mention of millions having obviously regained his interest.

“What we want do to is something akin to paradigm ju jitsu. We want to use the corporate power structure to take down the corporate power structure, and forming our own corporation is the first step.”

“There are a thousand different advantages and we can go into details if you like, but none of this means anything if we don’t have a goal. A target. An enemy we want to take down. To extend the jujitsu metaphor, setting up the shadow corporation is like buying our gear and training to fight. To put it into practice, we need an opponent. We need a corporation to go after.”

“We steal from big companies all the time,” said Eddie. “What’s new there?”

“I’m not talking about stealing from companies. I’m talking about destroying them. Shaking them to their foundations until they crumble, and yes, making a bunch of money for ourselves in the process. If money’s your goal, Eddie, then trust me; you’ll make more working with us on this than you’ll ever see on your own. Just like I’ll make more working with you than I’d ever see on our own. Pooling our resources and focusing our energies through the shadow corporation lets us overcome challenges that are otherwise insurmountable for each individual crew.”

“I’ve heard of Crews going this way,” Eddie scoffed, settling back into his chair. “Trying to run a gang like a business, with board meetings and reports and rules of order and all that shit. It doesn’t help. It just confuses people and they end up making dumb mistakes.”

“Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not talking about forming a real business with any of you. Not at all. My Crew doesn’t run like some goddamned corporation and it never will. To hell with corporate structure. All I want is corporate power for my own damn self. For all of us. And I’ve got just the candidate in mind for our first victim.”

“It’s a holding company based in the Caymans but run out of Miami that you’ve never heard of. Nor do they want you to ever hear about them. They’re not publicly traded. They don’t advertise. They do control hundreds of other, equally unknown corporations and front companies, and they’re in the business of making lots and lots of money by one of the oldest, nastiest methods on the planet. They’re in the slavery business.”

“You’re kidding,” said Eddie. “There’s no slavery anymore.”

“What world are you living in, fella?” Winston chimed in. “It never went away.”

“No, it never did,” agreed Amelia. “It might go by different names - forced labor, indentured servitude, sweatshops. But it’s still very much a problem.”

“I’m not sure how it’s my problem though,” said Eddie.

“It’s only your problem if you want it to be, but I would suggest you stop thinking of it in such simple terms. We’re talking about not a problem but an opportunity. A chance to both do some good and make some serious money.”

“Ok, I’ll try to look at it your way,” said Eddie. “Assuming the money really is what you’re saying it will be. What’s the plan then?”

“We’re not going into any specifics on the plan. We’re not going to tell you the name of the company, none of that until we all agree to work together and form the shadow corporation. What I can do is give you a broad overview. This holding company, let’s call them Company X, makes most of its money importing people from Southeast Asia and Africa to work in sweatshops here in the states. They charge the workers a huge fee to come over and then pay them so little for their work that it’s impossible for them to ever pay Company X back. The real money of course comes from the employers, who pay money to Company X to provide the so-called “workers,” or, to call them by their true names, slaves.”

“There’s always stuff like this on the news,” said Eddie. “What makes these guys so special? And you know, what I never understood is why the people don’t get up and leave if the work’s so shitty.”

“They don’t leave because they’re locked in and under guard at all times. They’re very literally slaves - fed just enough to keep them pro ductive, stored in overcrowded barracks when they sleep, and beaten or killed if they try to leave. Women are typically subjected to rape by the guards or forced into prostitution, and forced to have abortions if they get pregnant.

“As for what makes Company X so nasty, well, there are a couple of factors. First of all, they’re very, very good at it. They run slaves into places like Guam, the Marianas Islands, Puerto Rico and other U.S. protectorates so that companies can use the labor and still put “made in America” on the labels. They know all the right officials to pay off, including key congressmen and law enforcement officials. Hell, they’ve even got their own lobbyists in Washington. And why are they so well funded and organized? Because they have so many investors.

“Company X sells bonds to investors to cover their costs and purchase their slaves. Oh, you couldn’t call up your broker and order some - they’re only offered to a few thousand select customers who care a lot more about profits than about where those profits are coming from. The bonds have a phenomenal rate of return, sometimes as high as 50 percent for a short term investment. Most of these investors don’t necessarily know they’re supporting slavery, but they do know that they’re turning a blind eye to something shady. And it’s that kind of behavior we’re going to punish.”

“Punish how?” asked Eddie.

“By taking them all down and raiding them for every cent they have. Between Eddie’s contacts in the shipping and finance, Winston’s contacts with various crews across the country and the extensive penetration my Crew has achieved into their systems, we have more than enough ammunition to fire through the cover of our shadow corporation. We become investors, offer them a better way of doing things, then take them down from within, draining their accounts even as we expose their rotten investors to the law and the media.”

Eddie opened his eyes and slapped his hands down on the table. “Hot damn, it does sound tempting, don’t it?” he said. “You’ve got a way with words, I’ll give you that.”

“So you are interested,” said Isaiah. It wasn’t a question.

“Sure, sure,” said Eddie. “Hearing it for the first time, I gotta admit it’s a hot idea.”