Chapter 692
Delaying the 3rd Aerospace Year
After leaving Los Angeles International Airport, Abhishek went straight to the West Coast Technology Exhibition Hall in Venice, where he met Henderson and demanded an explanation.
In the meeting room, Henderson was as enthusiastic as ever.
Abhishek's smile vanished, and he said coldly, "All the satellites we received are missing core components and software control systems. What explanation do you have for this, and what is your intention?"
Henderson remained calm and slowly said, "The communication system of the communication satellite, the Earth observation system of the survey satellite, and the chips for both have already been shipped and are en route to the port of Mumbai, India."
This surprised Abhishek. He softened his tone slightly and said, "When exactly will it arrive at the port of Mumbai? I need a specific date."
"The exact arrival time depends on your decision," Henderson said directly, without mincing words. "Once you pay the remaining balance, the cargo ship will arrive at the port of Mumbai very soon."
Abhishek's expression turned cold again: "Our contract stipulates that we will only pay the balance after your goods arrive."
Henderson was prepared. He took out a backup copy of the contract, turned to the relevant clause page, placed it in front of Abhishek, and said, "This is Clause 27 of the supplementary clauses of the contract. After your final payment is made in full, our technicians will complete the final adjustments and installation of the satellite."
He turned two more pages: "This is Supplementary Clause 52. Some components of the satellite are fragile and require harsh transportation conditions, so they will be packaged as a separate package."
Abhishek looked closely and realized that the nooks and crannies he had previously ignored were actually full of pitfalls.
Those Americans are indeed a bunch of insidious and despicable robbers!
Henderson, standing on the moral and legal high ground, said, "The contract is filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the State Department, as well as with the authorities in New Delhi. According to the contract, it is your side that is in breach of contract, not ours."
Abhishek's face was extremely grim. It was impossible to pay the remaining tens of billions of dollars. On the one hand, this was not part of the plan in the first place, and on the other hand, this portion of the money had already been divided up.
Trying to get someone to spit out the money they've already swallowed is not only going to offend people, it could get you killed.
Breach of contract? The United States has never cared about such issues. From the national level down to the capital groups, there are far too many instances of them going back on their word.
But Henderson still felt great about being able to stand on the high ground and accuse the Indians.
All rules are based on strength and violence. The Hawke faction, including West Coast Technology, has been able to gain a foothold because it has won many battles, both overt and covert, and even violent incidents.
Without these, let alone the current Tom Emmer and Joseph, they would have been killed by Hillary four years ago.
“Things shouldn’t be like this. What about our mutual trust?” Seeing that he couldn’t reason with them from a legal standpoint, Abhishek resorted to appealing to emotions: “For so many years, we’ve been working together and have reached many deals, whether it’s the individual soldier transport vehicle project or technology investments, the cooperation has been very smooth…”
Henderson immediately raised his hand to interrupt him: "This isn't the first or second time your side has broken a promise!"
He cited examples to prove his point: "We have completed six individual soldier transport vehicle contracts and two software licensing transactions with you. In all eight transactions, you defaulted on the final payment in every single one of them, with the longest delay lasting nearly a year."
Abhishek was used to this kind of transaction, and besides, Raven never thought he was black, and he never thought there was anything wrong with his side: "But we have paid all the balances in full, and our credit has never been an issue."
Henderson ignored this and continued, "The two of you have been dragging this out for almost a year, four times for more than ten months, and twice for more than half a year. West Coast Tech, out of consideration for our friendship, has never asked for a single cent of interest, has never disclosed this information to the outside world, and has never resorted to legal action."
Abhishek quickly added, "We've been trading partners for many years, and West Coast Tech is a good friend of India. We trust each other..."
Henderson interrupted him again, saying, "In that case, please pay the remaining balance immediately according to the contract."
Abhishek never intended to pay; he wanted to get his hands on the complete satellite first: "You know our sincerity, we..."
Henderson repeated his previous statement: "Since you are so sincere, please pay the remaining balance!"
These words hit the nail on the head, leaving Abhishek speechless for a moment.
If he wanted to pay the remaining balance, why did he come all the way to Los Angeles to argue with Henderson?
Henderson continued, "The West Coast Tech ships and technicians have already set sail, as long as you pay the remaining balance according to the contract..."
Abhishek couldn't stay any longer and said, "Please give us some time to raise funds."
Henderson said, "Go ahead."
Abhishek walked out of the West Coast Technology Exhibition Hall with a dark expression, and then drove straight to the Indian Mutual Aid Society.
Before he arrived, he had already determined that the West Coast Technology branch, the South Korean ships, and the West Coast's investment projects in Mumbai were all prepared by the other side and could not possibly become tools for India to hold West Coast Technology hostage.
West Coast Technologies' investments in India even involved billions of dollars in loans from Indian banks.
West Coast Tech owes money to India? Is there anything more outrageous than this?
The person who refused to pay the final payment was actually outsmarted by someone else.
The incident proves that West Coast Tech had premeditatedly and deliberately harmed India.
Abhishek called Hawke, and as before, an assistant answered the phone, stating that Hawke had gone to Texas and was not currently in Los Angeles.
His sole purpose in going to the Indian Mutual Aid Association was to get his fellow Indians there to secretly call on all Indian employees at companies like Twitter, West Coast Technologies, Surrey Satellite, and SpaceX to hold a silent rally.
According to American media, Indian employees have become the technical backbone and mainstay of major American technology companies.
Putting aside everything else, Boeing is currently being kept afloat by Indians.
But apart from a few executives, most people don't know much about Hawke's entire Twitter network, SpaceX, and Tesla, which he has invested in. There are basically no Indian employees in the company.
Meanwhile, Henderson immediately reported the situation in Abshek to Hawke.
Hawke said directly, "Let's leak this information to the media."
Henderson knew Hawke’s attitude toward Indians well and rushed up to him without hesitation: “I contacted Twitter and The Wall Street Journal to prepare for an interview.”
Hawke, whose subordinates were very motivated, naturally didn't object and said, "Okay."
A few days later, The Wall Street Journal published a very eye-catching news story on its front page.
West Coast Technologies, a leading North American drone and satellite company, is facing trade difficulties.
This newspaper reported in detail the major trade and entanglements between West Coast technology and Indians.
There's no need to exaggerate the facts, because the Indians' breach of contract behavior is already outrageous enough.
After seeing the news, Abhishek called Henderson and angrily accused West Coast Tech of putting India in a very passive position, and West Coast Tech should bear full responsibility for the serious consequences!
In the Indian mindset, the final payment is something they owed on their own merit, and it's perfectly reasonable not to pay, but you can't demand it, much less accuse them. Henderson reiterated: "Please pay the final payment according to the contract."
This is obviously impossible.
Henderson subsequently gave a media interview and announced the contract between the two parties.
India's international reputation has plummeted.
Almost simultaneously, several companies across North America suddenly emerged, launching lawsuits through the media, accusing them of being cheated in transactions with Indians.
West Coast Tech has filed a lawsuit against India in the Los Angeles District Court, initiating an international legal battle with the Indians.
Ideally, we would like to get the final payment back.
Even if we can't get it back, we should still occupy the high ground in public opinion and the law.
West Coast tech is righteous, while Indians are evil, lacking basic morals and a minimum level of contractual spirit, making them veritable national fraudsters.
Other companies followed suit, launching legal proceedings against Indians and Indian companies.
Henderson released another video: "Given that the Indians have consistently delayed final payments in previous transactions with West Coast Technologies, we took this measure in accordance with the contract. In fact, we were overestimating them, because West Coast Technologies' ship carrying core components and technical personnel departed only slightly after the satellite and is currently lingering in the Indian Ocean. As soon as the Indian side pays the final payment, West Coast's ship will immediately enter the port of Mumbai!"
He specifically emphasized: "No matter what the Indians say, they only need to do one thing: pay the final payment according to the contract, and all the problems will be solved."
Twitter shared the video with users around the world.
Its international impact is enormous.
Germany halted negotiations with India regarding the acquisition of the Leopard 2 tank fire control system and engine, telling the Indians directly that the deal was possible, but the German company would only ship the goods after India made full payment.
The US has halted the export of engines for the Tejas fighter jet, and General Electric, which has been entangled with India over the final payment for the F404 engine in recent years, has realized the seriousness of the problem.
If the Indians do not pay the final payment, all engine repair parts will be stopped from being exported, and the price of engines exported thereafter will double.
Indians can take it or leave it.
If India doesn't accept it, its domestically produced Tejas fighter jets will not only fail to crash, but will only be delivered as empty shells to the Air Force.
France's Dassault Aviation has also suspended negotiations with India regarding the Rafale fighter jet.
The president of Dassault Systèmes’s U.S. branch traveled directly to Los Angeles to meet with Henderson and inquire about the outstanding payments owed by India.
Henderson told the truth, saying that the Indians were unreliable and the final payment was practically nothing.
Despite the Indians' promises of various rebates and large subsequent orders during negotiations, the losses could be substantial if the final payment is not received.
Dassault temporarily suspended contact with the Indians, and in subsequent internal discussions, it focused on analyzing the strategy adopted by West Coast Aircraft Company, and decided to raise the unit price of the Rafale fighter jet to $3.5 million per aircraft and strictly limit the export of parts and engine technology.
At that very moment, during normal operation of the aircraft carrier that the goose sold to India, a massive explosion occurred in the toilet, covering the deck with excrement.
Canada Goose has been ripping off India for years, and in recent years, it has been desperately short of money, so it took the opportunity to demand a repair fee of up to $3 million.
Unbeknownst to many, India's already lagging military industry has fallen into crisis.
…………
Houston, Texas.
After concluding her divorce from Tom Emory, Claire quietly returned to her hometown, where she met Hawke, who was preparing to head to the SpaceX launch site.
With a look of relief on her face, she said to Hawke, "Thank you for freeing me from this nightmarish marriage."
Hawke shook her hand and said, "It was your courage that got you out of the nightmare. You are stronger and braver than Sillaly."
On this point, Claire was adamant: "Silaly is a disgrace to women."
Hawke asked, "What are your plans next?"
“I plan to leave North America temporarily and spend some time in Africa.” The Claire Clean Water Foundation also has important projects in Africa: “If I don’t keep a close eye on them, those lazy guys in Africa will definitely mess up our projects.”
She thought for a moment, realizing there were some things she needed to tell Hawke beforehand: "I heard Krishnamurti is also in Africa."
Hawke nodded slightly: "In Damagin, Ethiopia."
Claire laughed: "I'm planning to stay in Damakin for a while during my vacation, is that alright?"
“That’s your freedom,” Hawke reminded him. “You can’t force anyone.”
Claire said, "He's your man now, how could I dare to force him?"
Hawke said, "I still have to go to the launch site, so I won't see you off."
Claire concluded the interview in high spirits and headed straight to the airport to continue her business in Africa.
Before Hawke went to the launch site, Elizabeth Carter came from Washington.
She said, "The company's think tank team collected a lot of data and analyzed it in combination with the actual situation in India."
Hawke also sponsors think tanks and other analytical teams, while Peterson Strategic Consulting's analytical team focuses more on practical applications.
Elizabeth said, "The team estimates, in the most conservative terms, that the failure of this satellite deal and the chain reaction it will trigger will be a major setback for India, and India's development in aerospace will be delayed by at least ten years."
Hawke laughed: "Ten years is enough."
In this era of rapid development in Asia, ten years is equivalent to an era.
The generational gap isn't just a matter of one generation separating the fourth and fifth generations; it's a complete and utter domination. (End of Chapter)