Chapter 31

Chapter 31—Her “friend” Sid

5:14 a.m., Thursday, December 2

Allison was up and active by five a.m. That really was not unusually early for her.

She was thankful that Sid agreed to meet with her. Even though the two had not conversed,
the mere fact that he did not call to cancel was a de facto acceptance.
Actually, Sid had never failed to meet with her or Bob when requested to do so. Initially Sid
was more strongly disposed to serve the fiduciary wants and needs of her husband. But when they
went their separate ways, Bob found contacts other than Sid to handle his banking, while Allison
leaned totally on Sid.
Aside from his financial wisdom, the thing about Sid that Bob missed most dearly was Sid’s
diplomatic clearance. Sid was part of the Israeli delegation, and as such had full diplomatic
immunity. Therefore, thanks to article 27 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations, as long as he tagged his luggage as “Diplomatic Pouches,” he could fly in and out of
the Middle East, Europe, and the United States, without ever having a problem. His luggage,
regardless of size, could never be subjected to inspections.
It was sort of funny, the way the whole thing turned out for Bob and Allison. When the First
Couple learned just how much wealth could be acquired in the White House, Allison had her own
people handling the couple’s finances. Bob’s principal role was coercing the wealth, while her job
was to convert it to gold and currencies, and stash it away abroad. That arrangement worked for a
couple years. Then they found out that they were being ripped off in a major way.
Of course, they would not allow that to happen. People died, and they found Sid. Bob never
really let her forget that it was her friends that were responsible for the problem. While the losses
seemed substantial to them at the time (they lost over fifty million dollars), once Sid came on
the scene, everything improved. Not only did they find more ingenious ways to extort, they also
discovered that they had been selling themselves short. Instead of selling their influence for a
million or two, now they would frequently close eight and sometimes nine-digit deals.
The biggest challenge for them was to find better ways to hide their loot. That’s where
Sid came in. He was brilliant. It was his idea to acquire a percentage of their payments in gold
artifacts, as opposed to currencies. It was also his plan to avoid investments of any type. Those
were, in his estimation, much too traceable. He explained to them that there would be plenty of
opportunity down the road to invest, just not while in office.
He told them that if they put away enough gold and currencies, they would leave the White
House very wealthy people, and virtually untouchable. Now, Bob no longer had Sid to help him.
But, Bob was outstandingly clever on his own even without Sid. Throughout his tenure as
Governor of Louisiana, Bob had built alliances—many of them international. It was while serving
as the chief executive of that state (before he became the President of the United States) that he
developed his very lucrative smuggling enterprises. Most of the monies that he made on drugs
remained in South and Central America, invested in real estate. He indirectly held the controlling
interests in numerous resort properties, and a major cruise line. Allison, while she knew that he
had some investments south of the border, had no idea just how extensive they were. And, she did
not want to know. She knew Bob very well. She knew that people who pried too deeply into his
personal affairs often met with a sudden death. She knew about his ruthless side, and she avoided
crossing over into it.
On the other hand, she knew Bob could be a very good friend. For the most part, that was the
relationship she opted for—that of friend and confidante.
As a husband, she trusted him. She knew that he would screw around on her whenever he
wanted to. Faithfulness in that arena was never expected. When close friends would question her
about it, she would frequently say, “Never expect people to deliver what they are incapable of
delivering. If you do, you will be disappointed.”
But, she could trust him to deal honestly with her with regard to money. While they both
loved money more than they loved each other, they were incredibly honest and loyal with regard
to it. They never cheated there. If they owed money, they paid it. If they owed one another
money, that debt too, was honored.
So, Allison was preparing to meet with Sid, a very loyal friend of the Fulbright’s.
Unlike her meetings with James or Jerry, Allison did not have the same liberty when it came
to dealing personally with Sid. She felt that it would be best if she donned her Bernadette persona
when meeting with Sid. She reasoned that would be wise, because Sid was not a public figure,
nor was he an acknowledged personal friend of the Fulbright’s. His role, with regard to Allison,
was strictly that of a financial confidant. She assumed that Sid probably had other clients for
whom he provided similar services. While Allison should not be seen in public with such a figure,
Bernadette certainly could.
Allison made a brief appearance outside her bedroom, contacted her aides, then feigned a
headache, and returned to her bedroom.
From there she quickly went up to Bernadette’s apartment, emerging outside the building
a half an hour later. “Need me to hail a cab, Ma’am?” the doorman inquired. She handed him a
twenty, and flashed a small smile beneath her sunglasses. Within a minute, she had boarded a
taxi, and was on her way to meet Sid.
“Fiftieth and Broadway. And no need to hurry.” Allison knew that she was running a little
early. The driver shot over to Park Avenue, then headed south. The morning traffic was beginning
to slow, but Park Avenue was clear down to 53rd. The driver started to turn west at 53rd, then
opted to go further south. Even though Allison had told him that she was not in a rush, he was.
51st was pretty clear, so the driver laid on his horn and nosed his cab through the crosswalk,
then accelerated for about one hundred feet. From that point, all he could do is inch along past the
other taxis and morning delivery trucks.
When they approached Madison Avenue, Allison’s patience had exhausted. “This will do just
fine,” she told the driver. I’ll walk from here. Just pull over. Thank you.”
She paid and tipped the driver, then did a little window-shopping. Allison enjoyed doing
that, when she had a little extra time. That was a delicious little luxury indulged in only by her
Bernadette persona. She knew that Sid would be waiting for her already; but that did not make
her feel the need to hurry.
Bob had told her often that when dealing with people who work for you, you’ve got to make
them wait for you. It should never work the other way. Friends are a different case. Never keep
them waiting—never.
Sid worked for Allison. He was not a friend. So he should wait—at least for a few minutes.
Allison checked her watch. It was 7:10. “Perfect,” she said aloud, as she entered the restaurant
where they would meet whenever she wanted to talk to him. Sid had probably arrived forty-fiveminutes earlier, and got a booth.
“How are you?” Sid asked her.
“Fine, and you?”
“Well, thank you.”
“I need you to make a trip,” she said as the waiter walked up. “Just coffee and water, please.”
“What do you need?”
“One hundred large. And it has to be hard.”
Sid looked her in the eye, and repeated what she had just said, “One hundred large and hard?
Okay. When?”
“It has to be delivered by Wednesday, next week.”
“Where?”
“I’ll let you know. I do not want to see or touch it. Just pick it up, and bring it back to the
city. Someone else will receive it from you. I will let you know where and when.”
Were this not Allison that Sid was dealing with, he might not have been willing to make
the transfer of so large a sum to a stranger. But he knew that Allison would not put him in a
vulnerable position. And, he knew better than to question her orders.
“Anything special about it. Do you want me to pick out the pieces? How do you want it?”
“You know, I hadn’t considered that aspect.” Allison sat there for a brief moment, and then
continued, “If there are pieces that seem to you to have greater historic value, leave them. And if
there are others that you think are unusually traceable, leave them as well. I am not certain about
the final outcome of the individual items, but I am pretty sure that most of them will be turned
into cash, and quite quickly.”
“I understand,” Sid responded. “I do hope there will be discretion.”
“Once the transfer is made, there will be no guarantees about that,” Allison said.
Allison knew that Sid had a fine taste for artifacts. And she was not anxious to run counter to
his highly-developed sensitivities. She wanted him to pick and choose. Even though there were a
number of pieces that she loved dearly, she felt she needed to grant him this power. “Of course,
you should take five percent for yourself, in the currency of your choice.”
Typically his payment would be 3.5 percent.
“That’s generous,” Sid said. “Thank you.”
“It’s not generous. You are an invaluable personal friend. You mean a lot to me. And I know
you will be professional about this.”
Of course, Allison was lying to Sid with regard to his being a personal friend. And he knew
it. But he still liked hearing the words come out of her mouth. It indicated to Sid that she viewed
him as an indispensable employee. He had always known that his position in her eyes was not
that of a personal friend. In fact, he was confident that she did not even consider him a closeassociate. He knew his place—that of a trusted employee. And that was fine with him.
With regard to his handling the transaction professionally—that was not hyperbole. They
both knew Sid would conduct the deal discretely, for not to do so would surely result in his death.
“What sort of arrangements do you think you can make at this short notice?”
“I can manage.”
“I am sure you will. You have never let me down. I am giving you the liberty of one day. I
would like to have you make the exchange on Wednesday, but we actually have until Thursday.
Just keep that in mind in case things get tight.”
“Thank you. I’m confident with Wednesday. … perhaps a little sooner.”
With that, Allison stood to leave. She had not received her coffee and water. “Call me when
you get back.”
“Will do.”
Allison then left the restaurant. She thought for a few moments as to whether or not she
should record a summary of her meeting with Sid, but decided against it.