The Banker and the Dragon

Chapter 4: Pierre Beaumont is Planning his Ascension. 10th March 2021.

The World Bank deputy director, Pierre Beaumont, was enjoying a sumptuous dinner at the ‘Le Comer Paradise’ restaurant in Hague. World Economic Forum was coming up in a few days, and Pierre had an urgent matter on hand. The world had cooled down, as the sun had entered a Global Solar Minimum which had lowered the average temperature by 0.2 degrees.

This caused Pierre a headache as he had planned to become the CEO of the World Bank through his active stance against climate change. This issue would become less important if the global temperatures were falling. However, Pierre had a solution to his predicament. Pierre had convinced that fool, Martin Orchard, to murder Pierre’s rival at the World Bank, Chakri Apinya. Pierre planned to blame the murder on the Buddhist leader Arhat Somchai. Because the world needed distractions so no-one asked about global warming!

Pierre stroke his balding head, and he studied CIA Agent James Winter who approached him. James was tall and muscular, with a perfect set of light brown hair and lively eyes. Compared to Pierre he looked like a Greek god. Pierre brushed off his complex, Pierre was wealthy and he had unmatched intellect. Particularly since the incident in Nepal, the previous year.

In Nepal, Pierre, James and a group of travellers had lost their way during a blizzard and found an ancient alien temple. In the temple, they had found alien technology that elevated their intellects and gave them impressive abilities. The monocle that Pierre often wore, contained this alien technology.

James got seated and Pierre whispered.

-          We should not both wear the monocle at the same time. It looks too conspicuous.

James shrugged his shoulders and replied:

-          Who cares? People are too busy staring at their phones, following the vain celebrity culture, to notice.

Pierre felt irritated by James’ reply, but he didn’t say anything. He considered taking off his monocle but he decided against it. Pierre was the vice director of the World Bank, soon to be director, and he couldn’t give in to a lowly CIA agent. Pierre changed the topic.

-          Our subsidiary, Xeng Fao Technologies, won the tender to maintain the new ‘Eternal Safeguard” AI in China.

James:

-          Perfect. Jing Xi is obsessed with using that AI to control his population. If we control China’s AI, we control the World.

Pierre:

-          Exactly. We need a new crisis, by the way.

James:

-          What’s wrong with Climate Change?

Pierre:

-          The sun has entered a Grand Solar Minimum, and Earth is getting colder.

James:

-          That won’t last forever. I am sure it will get hotter at some point.

Pierre:

-          I’d rather not wait for that to happen.

James:

-          So, what do you suggest? That we start another war in the Middle East?

Pierre:

-          Wars are a risky business. I don’t want to destroy the world that I seek to dominate.

-          Regardless, the World Bank cannot win a regular war. Our best hope is economic warfare.

James:

-          How do you intend to conduct economic warfare?

Pierre:

-          I am not sure, yet. But opportunities will arise, as they always do, when I am looking for them.

A waiter attended the table, and James ordered a Budweiser with his thick American accent. When the waiter had left, James turned towards Pierre and spoke:

-          So, Pierre. Tell me about your plan for disposing of Chakri Apinya?

Pierre smiled. He didn’t expect that he would need the assistance of the CIA on this matter, but It was always good to have a backup plan. For the next 20 minutes, Pierre hinted James about his plan, without revealing the exact details. While the CIA was a useful ally, Pierre wasn’t foolish enough to trust them!