Consider Liquidating Assets

“This is impossible.” Ranell massaged his temples. Someone had brought him a cup of coffee. He looked ruefully down at his Styrofoam cup, wishing instead that it was a crystal tumbler of Talisker. “We’d have to liquidate half of our fleet to meet these conditions. We’d have to sell trucks, planes, and even cargo ships that we own free and clear just to gain a line of credit to cover our future operations. How are we supposed to stay in business this way?”

“And who would even want to purchase our assets in this economic environment?” Larbonne asked dourly.

“It would be a damned fire sale,” Anderson flicked a stack of financial documents on the floor in disgust. “The vultures out there are circling for distressed businesses like ours. We could find buyers, I’m sure, but all we could expect is pennies on the dollar for our best transportation resources.”

Then Josef remembered the offer he’d received from Hétóng Rén. “What if we revisited the decision to sell the airships?” A glimmer of hope began to burn in his breast.

Again, Larbonne placed a hand on his shoulder. “Of course, we have already considered that option.”

“To hell with those airships,” murmured Anderson.

“The 240-million-dollar airship loan is the most recent in our portfolio,” Larbonne noted. “We haven’t even begun to pay off that debt.”

“We owe more for them than they’re worth,” Anderson pointed an accusing finger towards Ranell, “Like I said, we’re upside-down.”

You didn’t see what I saw, Ranell thought darkly. Hétóng Rén wasn’t a businessman trying to make a deal. He was… something else. A crushing mantle of foreboding now descended on him, adding to the weight of anxiety and despair he already carried.