Previously On The Maya...
The Maya gets back on the yacht and continues to carry out her plans. She wakes up her business companion so she can be seen, then puts him back under with a sleeping agent. She then calls the ship's doctor and asks if it's okay for her to take a break. With permission granted, she goes to the starboard deck, puts on her mission gear and after ripping her dress, throws it and other clothing items overboard. If they are found, they should serve as evidence that she died after falling overboard.
After that, she follows Tuscon Sutton II, his wife Lilith, and their dinner party down into the cargo hold where they board a small boat and speed away.
The Maya—a living legend covert operative-for-hire that no one she encounters can remember.
George Kirkegaard—a former newspaper owner forced out of business by state government.
Paloma Reyes—an intriguing woman Kirkegaard never thought he'd see again.
Eugenio Stavros—a shipping magnate on a trip to the mysterious Isle of Use to renegotiate a steel contract.
Amara Barclay—a savvy, independent multi-millionaire entrepreneur and socialite with unparalleled beauty.
Mr. Tic and Mr. Snake—two U.S. government officials running off-the-books dark ops involving The Maya.
And now...the next installment of The Maya.
It didn't take long for the boat to return to the large lake and waterfalls. Even from the distance, the cascades thundered. Where the water began to fall was obscured by clouds or mists, but it was a fair guess to say the origin was several thousand feet above the lake. Up until now, elevation was gradual, but here, in the foothills, the mountains appeared to shoot straight up. Amara expected to see a large helicopter waiting to ferry them to the top, but instead, there was a stretch limousine in the shape of an SUV.
The women were helped off the boat while the men secured the tie lines. That accomplished, they joined their companions in the limo. The long vehicle turned from the dock and wound through a park with tall trees and underbrush. Amara first noted the drop in temperature the nearer they got to the lake. Now, she was wishing her shoulders were covered, though it must still be in the low seventies. Stavros, ever the gentleman, draped his coat over her.
"How long does it take to get to your compound from here?" Amara asked, after a silence settled over the group.
"About thirty minutes," Lilith said, "We'll be ascending to a little over eight thousand feet. The road is mostly straight, but there are a few switchback curves to slow us down."
The scenery outside was now complete forest. Sunlight splashed down in some places, but the limo's lights came on to see through the natural dimness created by the canopy. The inside of the SUV kept the temperature level, but Amara knew outside, it must be falling by several degrees.
"This is quite a forest," Kirkegaard said. Aside from the road and some low lying plants, tall thick trunks were all he could see in every direction. "Not tropical either. We must be in alpine country now?"
Sutton nodded. "Yes, most of the mountain is covered in one tree or another. Pines, cedars, birch, oaks—they all grow here. It is being logged, too, in sections, at around twelve billion board feet per year."
"That's more than Oregon does," Kirkegaard said.
"And you won't run out of trees?" Amara wondered.
"There's over a trillion board feet in the forest now," Sutton said, "Which means it would take over seventy years to exhaust it at our current rate of production. However, we have a net growth of eleven point six billion board feet per year to replace what we're harvesting. So, we're virtually even."
"How long does it take a tree to mature?"
"Here, thanks to the soil and climate, about eighteen years to reach its harvesting height of one hundred feet. We're still working on old growth that was here when I first landed, so the planted trees will be taller than that by the time we come back through."
"How much of that is used domestically?" Stavros wanted to know.
"Very little now. Construction here continues, but it's slowed way down from its peaks. I'd estimate we consume in the five to ten million board feet range per year. The rest is being shipped abroad."
"And there's really no taxes of any kind?" It was Kirkegaard again.
"Domestically, no taxes are levied," Sutton said, nodding. "However, we do add a two point five percent tax to all our exports."
"So, how much does the timber industry bring in tariffs annually?"
"I don't know the numbers," Sutton said, "The last I heard, which was six months go, prices were ranging between ninety cents and a dollar fifty-five a board foot. Export prices."
"Okay, so that works out to..." Kirkegaard said, trying to do the calculations in his head.
"Well over forty-six billion dollars on the high end," Paloma said, when Kirkegaard did not answer.
"And you still out bid the competition," Stavros said. He shook his head.
"Yes, we do," Sutton said.
"Are all the rest of the industries like that?" Kirkegaard asked.
"Well, no," Sutton said. "The tariffs vary somewhat, though not much, but our production does. For instance, we do export beef and chicken, but most of it is raised for domestic use. That holds true throughout most of the food industry. However, we do export more steel, silver, titanium and gold than we use here. Those, and several other industries, bring in hundreds of billions of dollars a year for local city and federal government use, though not all of it is spent. The surplus stays with the companies who earned it."
"That's all well and good," Amara said, waving her hand, "What about diamonds?"
"We have four currently active diamond mines," Sutton said, "along with another twenty or so for rubies, emerald, amethysts and the like."
"Do you know the prices?"
"No, you'd have to talk with the individual mine. Are you looking for another supplier?"
"Perhaps." Amara smiled coyly.
"I can give you the number of each of the mining companies, if you're interested."
"Yes, please."
'The Maya' publishes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Copyright © Glen Anthony Albrethsen, 2014-2018. All rights reserved.