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Adrianos, The Greek Devil

Page 52

by D.C. Beks

He sets one beside my keyboard.

I inspect it.

"Bribe?"

"Preventative maintenance."

"Acceptable."

He pulls a chair beside mine. "What did you find?"

I take the coffee. "Do you want the bad news or the catastrophically bad news?"

"Surprise me."

"The fifty-seven million isn't fifty-seven million."

His expression doesn't change. "How much?"

"I don't know yet."

"That's unlike you."

"Thank you. I'm suffering."

I turn one screen toward him. "Petros gave us the evacuation. When OB6 knew he was compromised, they moved the money they thought might be exposed. I assumed that was the important event."

"It wasn't."

"No. It was useful because it showed me the destination accounts. Once I had those, I stopped looking at what happened yesterday and started going backward."

I show him the property transactions first, and Adrianos reads quickly.

"The fees?"

"Some of them. They're legitimate charges on paper, except portions are being diverted before settlement."

"How much?"

"Usually less than a quarter percent."

"Too small to notice."

"Too small to care about," I correct. "That's better. People notice strange things all the time. They just don't investigate when the cost of investigating exceeds the apparent loss."

I switch screens.

"Shipping insurance. Same principle. Tiny amounts skimmed from premiums, brokerage charges and settlement fees. Nothing dramatic enough to make anyone panic."

Another screen.

"Currency conversions. This one's beautiful."

His brow lifts.

"Criminally beautiful," I clarify. "Don't look at me like that."

"I didn't say anything."