“But how much money do you want? How much is enough?” hepondered.
His father chuckled silently. “All of it.”
“Surely you’ll leave some for the little people.”
“No, you don’t leave any for other people. If they’re smart, they’ll figure out how to take some for themselves. If not, it’s evolution in action. If the poor keep getting poorer, it’s their fault. The middle class is pacified with their huge, cheap televisions and low-end, luxury cars thataren’t any better than the cheap crap they should be buying. They buy things at hugely inflated prices, spending three times as much as they should, and pay us interest for the privilege rather than investing their money or paying taxes to fund health care.”
“Just in the States. Europe is more civilized.”
“Ah, but soon we’ll privatize health care here, too, in the name of efficiency and leanergovernment. It’ll happen a little at a time as we chip away their benefits or freeze them and allow inflation to do its work.”
“Sounds inevitable,” Raphael said, wishing he could stand up and leave to spend these minutes with Flicka instead of listening to his father’s litany of cruel elitism.
Valerian nodded. “In the end, when they do eventually get sick, people like us will take all theirremaining money. They will leave their children nothing, and each generation will be poorer than the last, except for us. We’re getting richer with every passing year, and they’re fighting over who gets the choicest crumbs. It’s the way of the world now.”
“Red in tooth and claw,” Raphael said, gnawing on the end of his cold cigar.
It was interesting how much Flicka agreed with his father inwhat the world was, just not in what should be done about it. Raphael would far rather live in the world that Flicka would make after she burned it all down, if she lived long enough to do it, and if she wasn’t killed to make Raphael comply.
Yes, Raphael had gotten to know Piotr Ilyin very well during that year when they had worked together, and Piotr had often mused and speculated aloud abouthis worldview, which was a rougher version of Valerian’s. He supposed that he should be grateful that Valerian had found him and not Piotr. Piotr would have killed Flicka immediately for Raphael’s betrayal and kept Alina as a hostage, perhaps in much worse conditions than a Swiss mansion and all the toys she could want, and he would have made sure Raphael knew that she wouldn’t die quickly.
Valerian said, talking to the dark windows, “Indeed, red in tooth and claw, survival of the most ruthless. I have taken the measure of the world and known it for what it is. It is not ideal. It is not a kind place. I am not sentimental and therefore not a sympathetic figure, but I am dominating at this winner-take-all game of power.”
Raphael laughed. “I can’t believe that my father just told meto hate the game, not the player.”
His father nodded. “I knew you’d understand, though I don’t hate the game. I am, however, very good at playing it. That’s how I won control of Geneva Trust in the family board meetings. I am willing to take the strong position when others dither and worry about our reputation. Bastien would have made us mere bankers, for God’s sake. The other family memberssaw my bold plans and his weak ones, and they gavemethe president’s position. When positions became empty, I made sure the new relatives who sat on the board liked an authoritarian, strong man in control or else convinced them to give up their shares to me. I hold power because I took it, and I have kept it through similar means.”
Raphael swirled the brandy in his glass, warming it with hishand holding the snifter to release the deeper tastes. “I can see that.”
“That’s why I need you, Raphael. Your sisters are sweet, kind women, and they will sink this bank if I let them. Geneva Trust needs someone strong to lead it. It needs someone who will do the dirty work and destroy anything that stands in our way. I need you to take the helm when I’m done.”
“It’s good you see that in me,”Raphael said, tasting the darkness of cigar smoke in his mouth.
“Now that this heroin transaction has been completed successfully, you’ll need to meet with Piotr Ilyin. I’ve arranged a meeting tomorrow night for a late supper.”
Raphael paused. “So soon?”
“You’ll be heading his account and, someday, the operation of the bank. He’s our largest client, so you need to make your peace with him.If you do, if you can convince him that you’re his man, this will be much easier. You’ll be an accepted member of the team like anyone else. I’m sure you’re looking forward to a measure of relative safety for Flicka and Alina. You’ll need less security and might even be able to move out of the estate.”
A threat and a bribe. Raphael had expected exactly that. “Flicka will be looking forward toit. She doesn’t do well without an extensive social life.”
Valerian frowned. “It was unfortunate that she jumped the gun with Anaïs, Océane, and the girls. I don’t like how that happened.”
“Océane and Anaïs are smart women. I wasn’t surprised they figured out Flicka was here.”
“Flicka contacted them, didn’t she?”
Raphael laughed. “I have no idea how she would have done that. You’ve taken herphone and every access to communications. I’m surprised you aren’t somehow blocking cellular signals in the house.”
“How do you know we aren’t?” Valerian asked.
Raphael opened his eyes a little more and let his jaw drop.“Are you?”
Valerian smirked. “No, and now I know that you didn’t know that, either, so you must not have a phone.”
Raphael settled back in the chair. He wasn’t a terribleactor. “No, I don’t have a phone, and well-played.”
Valerian laughed. “You’ll make sure Flicka doesn’t do such a thing again, won’t you?”
“I’m not sure she did it in the first place, but I’ll discuss it with her.”
“Your mother feels especially betrayed. Sophie has advocated for Flicka and Alina to have the run of the house instead of being restricted to the guest suite.”
“I think they’ve madeup. And it was only a few family members, not an international newscast. Quite honestly, if Flicka had found a phone lying around, she would have called her brother, and he would have swooped in here with a paramilitary force to rescue her. I wouldn’t have been surprised at an amphibious assault from Lake Geneva out the back doors, here.” That’s how Rogue Security would have planned it, anyway.
“Yes, but Sophie rightly feels that this has endangered her daughters. The girls are not actively involved in anything at the bank that could put them in harm’s way. The girls know Flicka and Alina are staying at our house now. If anything happens to either one of them, we will have to ensure that your sisters will not cause trouble.”
Chills crept down Raphael’s back like ice melting down hiscollar. “I don’t see how a problem could occur at this late date. We’re in final plans for my integration into the bank and the Ilyins. I’ll meet with Piotr Ilyin soon to cement my role in both the organizations. It’s practically settled.”
“Yes,” his father said, holding his glass to his lips. When he turned to Raphael, the library’s dark windows reflected in his gray eyes. “Let’s hope so.”
