Chapter 208 - 208. Oil Troubles
Magnus postponed going to Flamel's house that day. He wanted to be by his family's side and be their emotional support if they needed it. But the next day, Adam took Magnus and Ragnar to a car factory before dropping him at Buckingham Palace as his presence was needed there.
"I am thinking about buying this car plant. I need someplace to manufacture my prototypes after all. Small, secretive research will still be worked on in the basement though." Adam planned. He now had enough money to fulfil his dreams. But he wanted to help Grace too. They still needed a lot more money if they wanted to open their own heart treatment hospital.
"Don't worry dad, I will put charms, wards and curses on the building to make sure nothing ever gets stolen from here. In fact, I have started developing a new kind of contract paper, through which, if the signer ever breaks the terms of the contract, you will instantly know." Magnus assured him.
Adam gasped, feeling the implications of such an amazing paper, "I... Give me a hundred of them please."
~With the demand, I guess I will need to hire some elfs from Hogwarts to make these.~ he thought.
The whole building was like a giant warehouse. There was a full assembly line too, but now it was shut as the economic recession was going on. The stock market had crashed and was still going down since January. [A/N: 1973–1974 stock market crash happened in the real world.]
Magnus, for one, knew that he could not do anything about this in the short term. He can only hope that by the time he becomes a bit older all the projects he had started will start reaping him and the country benefits.
After all, the technological boom was yet to come. (A/N: The boom happened during 1990 to 2000)
"Have you thought about whom you want to hire? I went to Oxford University the last time and a boy from there wanted to work for you, for free. I bet there are many more like him." Magnus suggested.
Adam thought for a while, "Hmm, my reputation is pretty good right now. I think I can get some very talented people to work for me. Oh, have you thought about when you want to start producing the batteries?"
Magnus was already working on this, "It will take a little more time, Dad. FutureTek industries can set up a factory in a short time, but establishing the supply chains of raw materials takes time. Thankfully, we have a very good relationship with Zimbabwe and they have a good amount of Lithium. Soon, we will start producing batteries for various devices, and the moment you develop an upgraded version we will give the older version's patent authorisation."
"That's good to hear. Let's go, I will drop you at the palace now. Have you packed your bags? Can't believe you will be meeting a 600-year-old man." Adam said in disbelief.
"Magic, dad, Magic. It can do things beyond your comprehension. Besides, I already showed you we can teleport, living a few hundred years should not be a problem. Not just that, I'm going to find a way to make you and mum live a very long life too. We will fake our deaths and live happily in Camelot." Magnus said, telling them what his dream was. This was Magnus' retirement plan.
Adam chuckled, "This means I will be able to see the world develop and become more technologically advanced while playing with my great-grandchildren. It's going to be a good time."
They continued to talk and soon arrived at the royal palace. Adam just dropped them there and returned to his office. Adam's car was not ordinary, it was enchanted to the brim, so nothing could harm him.
Magnus and Ragnar entered the palace through the normal gates. The guards there recognised them and didn't say anything.
At the entrance of the palace, an office worker was already waiting for him and Ragnar.
"The queen is waiting for you, sir. Please follow me." He said and led the way.
Soon, Magnus arrived in a room where it seemed like some important discussion was going on. The Prime Minister, the current Chief of Defence Staff, the Defence Secretary and the queen were present.
Magnus and Ragnar felt a little out of place since they were still young boys.
"What's going on here?" He asked them.
Everyone in the room knew who Magnus was, as even the Defence Secretary was knowledgeable about the wizarding world.
"A brewing problem. The economy is already down, now a war in middle-east is coming up." The queen replied.
Magnus and Ragnar took their seats. "Who's starting a war?"
The Chief of Defence staff came forward. Basically, all these men at the highest level of defence and government knew about the wizarding world. Because often they have to cover up some mess created by a wizard.
"Sir, Saudi King Faisal and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat met in Riyadh a while ago. Possibly some kind of a deal was signed whereby the Arabs will now use the "oil weapon" as part of the military conflict." the man explained.
Magnus nodded. But what he didn't understand was why did they ask him to come? Couldn't they have solved it on your own?"
His gazes were noticed by the queen and she clarified, "I believe you will be able to come up with a peaceful solution."
*Sigh*
"Israel? Right? Hmm, can I use your telephone?" He inquired.
Of course, who was going to deny him. He just went to it and called Ted. It rang for a few seconds before getting picked.
Magnus immediately blurted a few words. "Yes, buy oil ETFs and sell them by year-end. Yeah, tell them too."
When Magnus turned back, everyone was staring at him with blank and shocked faces. Utter disbelief was shown through their eyes.
Magnus spoke. "What? Can we stop the war? No. Can we save everyone? No, not yet. So, I might as well make some money. Also, if the problem is about rising fuel prices causing us trouble, why don't you just buy oil and store it?" He asked them.
"That's not possible. One, we don't have such big storage facilities, second, transporting it will take a lot of time and resources, and the biggest reason, nobody is willing to sell so much oil right now." The prime minister said.
Magnis laid back on his seat, "Hmm, I think I have a solution for it then. Get me a paper and pen."
Immediately the Defence Secretary gave it. Magnus in front of them started writing a letter.
[Letter]
How are you, Faisal, my friend? I will come straight to the point. We know what you are doing. I have a proposal for you. The United Kingdom will stay out of this war as long as you agree to sell the United Kingdom oil at a non-inflated price.
My tankers will come to your nation and take oil in the next few weeks in large quantities.
Honestly, let me warn you that you are dropping an axe on your foot this time. By politicising fuel, you are pushing Electric Vehicle technology even more. Once you are done, countries will start looking into it with more push. Many might even start looking for other venues to get oil, after all, your fight is not with the world, but you are damaging it all. And don't forget, many countries have oil, they have just not started taking it out yet.
However, if you agree to sign a pact for the next 20 years which states you will always sell United Kingdom oil at a fair price, I will help you start industries in your country that can help you even after oil becomes less in demand.
Kindly,
Magnus Grant Emrys Pendragon
[Letter Ends]
He put his official seal on it and closed the letter. "Send this letter to Saudi King Faisal. I know him personally and have a decent understanding of him. It is most likely that he is against the weaponising of oil."
The Prime Minister quickly took the letter, "I will immediately send a diplomat with this, your highness. I will also call a cabinet meeting and push for the formation of this new treaty."
The Prime Minister took a sigh of relief. If the economy went down anymore his political career would be in trouble.
"WAIT!" Just then Lord Mountbatten spoke. It was strange why he was silent all this while. What was even more strange was that he was even present here? Because from what Magnus knew, he had taken retirement from these tiring duties and now enjoyed his days fishing.
[A/N: Just a reminder, Lord Mountbatten looks like Lord Tywin Lannister.]
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