Chapter 37: It All Has to Go
Around a week later, North City was abuzz. The armoured truck carrying the new coins had arrived at the North Economic Institute. Hadrian and his younger brother Hamish Alset had just arrived to conduct the auction of the Alset’s North District assets. James and Jeff Yensid, along with several other wealthy Linap, were there to bid on assets at the auction. Joan and Sally were there to observe the auction. They had hoped to crowdfund sufficient money to bid on some of the assets for sale, but it did not look like it was going to be possible. Yensid Media was also there to cover the auction live for all of Sapey to observe.
Prior to the auction, James and Jeff had met with the other wealthy Linap. They had privately discussed and agreed on who would win the auctions for each asset. They wanted it to look realistic as well as ensure everyone got what they wanted with their desired budget. James also wanted to be familiar with all the other bidders to avoid surprises.
The auction was held in the largest warehouse in the Alset facility. A small stage and a large television had been set up. The stage was for the auctioneers, in this case, Hadrian and Hamish. The television was to be used to showcase large assets that could not be displayed in the warehouse. Small replica models of various buildings were also put on display. To one side of the warehouse, a catering area had been set up. All food and drinks were free for attendees.
Hadrian and Hamish walked up on stage. There was a small applause from the audience. Hadrian did not appear pleased with the turnout. He was hoping for a much larger audience.
‘Good afternoon to all,’ said Hadrian. ‘Over the next two days, we will be conducting a mega auction. Everything that belongs to the Alset Company and family must go. I hope all of you are loaded up on coins because I’m very keen to take them off you.’
The audience chuckled.
‘I will now hand over to my brother to commence the bidding on item one,’ said Hadrian as he stepped back.
‘Hello everyone,’ said Hamish. ‘On day one, we will be auctioning machinery, equipment, and vehicles, and on day two we will be auctioning property and non-mobile assets. On your seat, we placed a leaflet listing all the assets to be sold on each day and the order they will be sold in.
Most of the audience began to browse quickly through the leaflet. James and Jeff were paying more attention to who was in the audience. They wanted to locate any potential unexpected competition.
‘Item number one is the four jumbo humidity electric generators,’ said Hamish as he pointed to the television, which was displaying one of the generators. ‘They only serve as backup generators due to the low humidity in this district. However, in the tropical south, they can generate up to eight times the power. These generators are the prototype for the mega-humidity electric generators used in Carrington. They are almost brand new. Would anyone like to start the bidding?’
‘I’ll bid 1,500 coins,’ called out a bidder as he turned and smiled at James.
James nodded contently back at him.
‘I’ll bid 1,600 coins,’ called out James.
‘I’ll bid 1,800 coins,’ called out the first bidder.
‘I’ll bid 3,000 coins,’ called out a third bidder.
Both James and Jeff glared at him. They did not recognise him.
The first bidder turned to James with a concerned look on his face. James gestured with his hand to continue bidding.
‘I’ll bid 3,100 coins,’ called out the first bidder.
‘I’ll bid 4,000 coins,’ called out the third bidder.
James looked over at Hadrian. He noticed a slight grin appear on his face.
‘I need to grab a hot coffee,’ said James to Jeff as he got up to walk to the food and drinks’ table.
‘I’ll bid 4,100 coins,’ said the first bidder in a nervous tone.
‘I’ll bid 5,000 coins,’ said the third bidder.
The first bidder turned to Jeff. Jeff deliberately avoided eye contact with him.
‘Any more bids?’ called out Hamish.
There was silence.
‘Item one goes to you, sir, the finely dressed gentleman holding paddle forty-two,’ called out Hamish.
James walked over to the third bidder in what appeared to be a gesture to congratulate him. Instead, James spilt half his hot coffee onto the leg of the third bidder.
The third bidder yelped in pain, which caused him to shapeshift into Hermon.
‘Ohh my,’ gasped James loudly. ‘The Alset family is selling assets to themselves. Or maybe a failed attempt to jack the prices up to make a dirty profit.’
The cameras zoomed in on Hermon as he continued to wince in pain.
‘This is all a big misunderstanding,’ said Hadrian calmly. ‘My nephew went rogue. He’s the family troublemaker. We will deal with him.’
‘I really doubt that,’ said James angrily. ‘I have a feeling there are a few more of your nephews and nieces ready to take his place.’
James pointed to someone in the second row who looked nervous and whom he did not recognise.
‘Would you like me to throw coffee in your face?’ said James as he held his cup up.
The Linap in the second row panicked and shapeshifted into one of Hadrian’s nieces.
The other bidders started to become angry.
‘I must apologise for my family,’ said Hamish politely. ‘Giving up these assets was not easy for them. However, that does not excuse this poor conduct. For no charge, I would like to give item one to the first bidder holding paddle eighteen.’
The first bidder pumped his fist in joy. Hadrian looked at his brother in rage.
‘If this is how smart you are when you’re on the juice, I wonder what you’re like when you’re off it,’ remarked James sarcastically as he walked back to his seat.
Hadrian walked off the stage to go outside to warn his other nephews and nieces. Hamish recommenced the auction. Joan and Sally looked at each other and giggled. They could not believe the Alset family could again look so foolish.
The rest of the auction went smoothly. There was some back-and-forth bidding between bidders, but the bids never went particularly high before a price was reached. The bidders got all the assets they had agreed on prior to the auction. James and Jeff got the largest share of the assets. They spent almost all their coins.
Despite the embarrassment at the beginning, Hadrian was feeling a little better with the reasonably decent haul of coins from the sale of the assets.
At the end of the auction, James and Jeff returned to their accommodation. It was time to call Atlas to make the big announcement about the new coins.
‘Hey Atlas,’ said James into the phone. ‘Have all the coins arrived in all the districts?’
‘Just Lake and Coastilly to go,’ replied Atlas. ‘The coins will arrive, at the latest, tomorrow night.’
‘That’s fine,’ said James. ‘I want you to make the big announcement tomorrow.’
‘Oh yes, no problem,’ replied Atlas.
‘Well, I hope not,’ said James. ‘I wrote everything down for you. Besides, my associate will be on hand to help with anything unexpected.’
Sapien Loop: End of an Era
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my @spectrumecons account, and in individual chapters in my @captainhive account.
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