“We’ve established that she’ll go by Elena,” Adrik cut in.
The other man nodded. He opened his mouth but Adrik beat him to speaking again. “John Morovov has given you to us as a payment for his mismanagement of our accounts. A punishment for his error.”
I swallowed, hoping my voice wouldn’t be shaky. “I know. And I know those accounts shouldn’t have been flagged as having insufficient funds.”
They shared a look and watched me.
“I… He made me handle the accounting of selective clients only. But I can’t own any blame or fault for what happened to the transaction that should’ve been cleared. I double-checked it myself last night.”
The desert scenery and signs of civilization blurred by outside the windows, but nothing could pull my gaze from these two men.
“You handled the processing of those payments and transactions?” Adrik asked.
“Yes. My father never allowed anyone else to handle it.”
Adrik narrowed his eyes.
And I realized too late what a horrible mistake I’d made. I’d just admitted that I knew about their accounts, how much money they had in them, and the nature of their transactions. For all I could assume, those transactions were for buying hookers or dealing with nuclear bombs. Drugs and weapons and state secrets. I never had access to details. No names or products. But I could only guess.
And I’ve just outed myself as having this knowledge.
If they weren’t going to kill me already, they sure would now. I was a liability with even a hint of their secrets.
“What credentials and qualifications do you have to be an accountant at his firm?” the other man asked.
I furrowed my brow at him, trying to understand why he’d asked me. When my father first dropped the news that I’d be going with these men, I assumed it would be for employment. This man was hinting at the same thing.
Could that be it?
They know I handle their books now, and they want me to take over doing that directly for them?
That sounded too good to be true, though. Regardless, I listed my education and certifications that I’d received. I doubted my degrees would hold clout with them. But perhaps my honestyand willingness to work hard would dissuade them from killing me.
“I am more than happy to… to work for you. To handle whatever accounting services you need.”
Adrik smirked. “It sounds as though you’ve already been doing that.”
I nodded. “I have been. I just didn’t know the details of who any clients were.”
“Tell me a little more,” the other man said.
Talk about spreadsheets and auditing? That was easy. For the rest of the drive, I tried to give as succinct and clear of a summary as I could. Talking carefully and enunciating properly, I hoped that I was appeasing them. That they would be satisfied with my report.
The car stopped at last, but I was still too riveted on what these men would say or decide to look out the windows. Their interrogation about the books I’d handled hadn’t felt like a test. Yet, as we sat in the parked car, I got the impression that Adrik assumed I knew more than what I was admitting.
“It’s not easy to describe with words, but if you allow me to show you on a computer, it might be easier and clearer to follow.”
“Are you suggesting that we allow her access to our books?” the man asked Adrik.
“I’m not suggesting anything. It seems that she is, though.”
Determined not to be powerless, I took this chance to vocalize such an offer. “I can. I am more than willing to review your accounts.”
My usefulness might very well be my only protection now. If they could extract a purpose from me, they wouldn’t be so quick to get rid of me, like my father had.
Adrik would see me as a thing. Something he’d gotten as a payment. But it seemed like I would be wise to secure my life by appearing to be a tool for him.
Not a body to dispose of after he’d killed me.
