"Thank you, Oleg. This means a lot," Black said and reached for the bottle. He poured a drink for himself and Oleg.
Both men shot their drinks and Black poured another. "I tell you something else. When Mr. Angelo Collette calls and says to me Mr. Mikhail Black wants to talk to me, I say to myself, what is the reason for this? I have my suspicions about a reason, but still, I wonder. I have shared a bottle with you many times, but never has Mr. Mikhail Black wanted to talk. Drink yes, talk no. So, I am wondering, what it is that brings you to me?"
"Are you familiar with a woman named Jada West?"
"Yes," Oleg said slowly and curiously. "I am familiar with Jada West." Oleg picked up his glass and pointed at Black. "You surprise me my friend. This was not what I was thinking you wanted to talk about. Now tell me, what business is this of yours?"
"Ms. West tells me that you’ve shown an interest in her business."
Oleg sat back in his chair and smiled. "This woman, this madam, this Jada West, she belong to you?"
"No, Oleg, Ms. West is a personal friend. I have no interest in her business."
"Now I am wondering, why are you here?"
"I came to ask you as a favor to me, to forget about Ms. West and her business."
Oleg laughed when he heard that. Then he reached for the bottle and poured them both a drink. Oleg held up his glass and Black followed suit before both men shot their drinks. "You, me, Mr. Angelo Collette, we have done this many times before, but this is the first time you have ever asked me for anything other than to pass the bottle. I do not know whether I should be honored or insulted that you ask me this now."
"That was a mistake on my part. Please believe me, I meant you no insult. We should have had a conversation about business long before now."
"I wish that we had too. But your business is gambling. Mr. Angelo Collette, his business is extortion and narcotics. Me, I am just a poor Russian trying to earn a living in your wonderful country. Now you come to me and say Oleg, you cannot earn a living because Jada West is a friend."
Black put down his glass. "Oleg, listen to me. If you were willing to forget about Ms. West and her business, I think there are some things that you and I can work on that in the long run, would be much profitable for you and your associates, should you choose to involve them."
"What did you have in mind?" Oleg asked, seemingly intrigued by what Black was telling him. Oleg was always looking for ways to make money, which was how Jada West came to his attention.
"My partners and I are looking to make some investments in Russia," Black said. "In order to make that happen, we need a presence in Russia; a Russian presence. In exchange for your consideration about Ms. West, I would talk to my associates about taking you on as a partner."
"What type of businesses we talking about?"
Black thought back to the last meeting he had with Meka Brazil and tried to remember what she said about foreign investment in Russia. "There’s a company that makes multimedia switching gear for cable companies that just got certification for its product line in Russia. Communications infrastructure investment could represent a significant opportunity," Black said, trying to repeat what Meka said, but Oleg didn’t seem impressed. "Then there’s wind."
"Wind?"
"Are you familiar with The Kola Peninsula in the Murmansk region?
"Yes, it’s located in the northwestern part of Russia. It borders Finland and Norway. The Peninsula faces the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the south," Oleg said proudly.
"Did you know that area of Russia has the greatest capacity for wind power in the world?"
"I did not know that. I know that another oil and gas field had been found under the seabed of the Barents Sea. The Shtockmonovskoye gas field is considered to be the largest offshore deposit of natural gas in the world."
"Really? That might be something that my group should look into. But this wind thing is the future, Oleg. The problem i
s that a lot of the area available for wind power in Russia is far from major cities. But right now there are settlements, fishing villages, border stations and shit like that, that are far from the electrical grid."
"Most of them are powered mainly by diesel generator sets."
"Right. So wind power will make a substantial contribution to the power supply in these areas. And as the business capability and construction of new transmission lines moves forward, we can begin servicing some of the major cities."
"You sound just like a businessman, my friend."
"Too much, Oleg," Black said and wondered if he was a legitimate businessman playing gangster or a gangster playing legitimate businessman. "What do you think, Oleg? You ready to make some real money? ’Cause I’m sure that this will be far more lucrative for you than Ms. West’s little pussy business."
"Yes, yes, I can see where that would be much more lucrative—long term of course."
"Of course."