Death is Forever

material. It was up to van Luik to reconcile those two sides of the diamond equation.
    He collected the “prayers” of each cartel member, but the papers were a formality. The same figures had been faxed to van Luik the previous day. In any case, the prayers were useless. He’d known for the past week how the next three months’ output of DSD diamonds would be distributed.
    Swiftly van Luik lined up sheets from producers opposite those from buyers and compared amounts with the agenda in his head. There would be some very unhappy people leaving the building today. It wouldn’t be the first time, and van Luik wasn’t fool enough to believe it would be the last.
    “Mr. McLaren,” van Luik said abruptly, “DSD can’t at this time provide a guaranteed market for the undeveloped Ellendale pipes. As you know, the gem content of Ellendale was very high for a pipe mine. Somewhere in the neighborhood of sixty to eighty percent, was it not?”
    “Yes, but—”
    “Are you not aware,” van Luik interrupted, “that the market has barely recovered from the disaster of 1980? This most definitely is not the time to bring a new gem mine into production.”
    “Then could we anticipate a price increase on our industrial diamonds?” McLaren asked curtly.
    “Regretfully, no. If the price of industrial diamonds goes much higher, Japan would be tempted to begin mass-producing them in their labs, and then Australia would be left with a hugely expensive, hugely unprofitable mine and no way to repay the cost of its development.”
    “But—”
    “I will be at the Argyle mine shortly to discuss long-range planning for its product. Be assured Australia’s interests are DSD’s interests as well. For the moment, the last thing either of our interests need is one more gem diamond mine.”
    Without waiting for a response, van Luik slipped McLaren’s prayer to the bottom of the stack and addressed the problems created by the next sheet in line.
    “Mr. Singh, you will receive two-thirds of the melees you requested,” van Luik said.
    “My cutters would be most grateful if a greater proportion of our sights were made up of larger rather than smaller melees, which are the dregs of the diamond trade.”
    “You have the only workers capable of turning a profit on the smaller melees,” van Luik said. “However, if India would like its allotment reduced, DSD will do so. China has made inquiry about the melee trade recently. We told them our entire output of rough was allocated at present. Naturally we assured them that we would keep their interest in mind, should the situation change.”
    Singh’s face went very dark beneath his stark white turban. Yet when he spoke, his voice was flat and calm. “India has no objection to the kind or quantity of diamonds it will receive in the next three months from DSD.”
    “Excellent. Your cooperation will be remembered. Mr. Feinberg, your associates’ requests will be met in full.”
    Feinberg nodded.
    “Mr. Yarakov, the market for larger gems is just recovering from the disastrous speculation of 1980 and 1981,” van Luik said. “We regret that we can handle no more of your output.”
    Yarakov looked angry but didn’t open his mouth.
    Van Luik paused, obviously expecting an argument. When none came, he went on to the next prayer. “Mr. Aram, your requests are unreasonable. If we allocated you that many melees, India and the Soviet Union would have little work for their own polishers.”
    Van Luik’s dry, soft voice carried easily through the big room, because none of the people moved or muttered among themselves. Even Moshe Aram was quiet. In the 1970s, Israel had cut eighty percent of all melees. But in the early 1980s, Israel had been instrumental in the diamond speculation that had nearly broken DSD’s hold on the diamond market. ConMin hadn’t forgotten. Or forgiven. The cartel had cancelled the valuable sight invitations of 150 diamantaires, thereby gutting the diamond industry in Tel Aviv.
    Soviet and Indian markets now received the majority of the melees.
    “You will receive thirty-seven point six percent of your melee request,” van Luik continued. “The Soviet Union will receive eighty-nine point eight percent of its request. Those amounts will be evenly divided among the next three sights in London. How you divide it among your diamantaires is, as always, a matter of your own discretion.”
    “You have punished us long enough,” Aram said roughly. “We have done