August 20, 1993
Friday
11:00 AM
Friday morning I met with Vadim at the Terem. Over a cup of espresso we came up with a scheme for working together: those wanting cash rubles would wire non-cash funds to Vadim’s account. They’d get their cash a day after the money hit the account. Vadim handled the paperwork side. Cash was my responsibility, so I had to organize its delivery to Kalyazinsky. The fund’s cut — seven percent, the rest went to Vadim.
I headed over to VychMekh and the first thing I did was make Fedotych’s day with the news that he now had a chance to eat for free at a proper restaurant. Laid out the price of that meal ticket: escorting a sealed bag to Kalyazinsky alongside a police officer.
I conferred with Marina and reshuffled the mobile group’s roster. Upped the number of people going out to Kalyazinsky to three, so we wouldn’t need to seal the bag or fuss with documents. Lena would personally hand the cash to Vadim in exchange for a debt obligation covering the sum given out. Lena would turn those obligations over to Marina, who was tasked with drafting some sort of contract for the whole business — something or other, not yet worked out. It gave us something to brainstorm. That’s how I learned a bunch of new words: acceptance, annuity, notice of assignment, and the rest…
