Oh, shit, Tommy thought as he read Brig’s message. He had pushed Brig too hard and now Brig had blocked him, which was a genuine tragedy. Tommy had something Brig desperately wanted, and Tommy desperately wanted to give it to him, or more correctly, sell it to him. But what could he do now?
He tried calling, but as expected, there was no answer.
“Think! Think Scholar!” Tommy prodded himself to come up with a solution when he remembered an earlier message. Brig had said his hotel had a “…fantastic view of the Potala Palace.” Tommy reasoned that there couldn’t be many upscale hotels around this one tourist attraction. After a quick search on Baidu (the Chinese equivalent of Google) Tommy was certain he had found Brig’s hotel. Tommy called the Lhasa Shangri-La, and sure enough, they had a Brigham Young staying with them. He asked to be put through to Mr. Young’s room. The phone rang, but there was no answer. Either Brig was out, or he suspected that it was Tommy trying to reach him. Who else would call him? The operator offered to take a message. Tommy declined. He would deliver the message personally.
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