DEATH and SECRETS by Seeley James

Author:Seeley James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Thriller
ISBN: 9781732238824
Publisher: Machined Media
Published: 2022-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 33

Yeschenko ducked into his poolside cabana at the exclusive resort in Marrakech. He was surprised to find Veronica Hunter already there in a modest one-piece, reading a copy of Death and Dark Money. He eyed her without greeting and ordered orange juice. When the waitress left, he took a seat on the opposite lounge. “What have you done with Belenov?”

“The same question I was going to ask you.” Veronica put her book down. “That is until one of my White House spies reported in.”

Yeschenko waited, drummed his fingers, then ran out of patience. “And?”

“It seems your boy has endeared himself to the POTUS directly. You and I are no longer needed.”

“We’ve been burned.” Yeschenko nodded and applied sunscreen to his legs. Then he rubbed it on his arms and face and upper shoulders.

“I may be twenty years older than your usual harem girl, but I can apply sunscreen to your back if you’d like.” She paused for a reply he didn’t give. “Don’t worry, I’ll try to control my urges.”

He laughed and tossed her the sunscreen. “I’ll be sure to return the favor.”

“Aziz already took care of it.” She rolled the lotion softly over his shoulders. She pushed him over and turned the lotion into a full-scale massage. “How do you suggest we get Belenov back under control?”

“No need.” He shrugged off her massage and sat up. “RULE has voted to overthrow Roche. It was the first unanimous vote since Napoleon had to be kicked out in 1814.”

Hunter rose and returned to her lounge facing him. “What is this little cabal of yours?”

Yeschenko huffed at her slight. “Since the first city was built, there have been three power centers in civilization: church, state, and money. During the Renaissance, the church and state conspired to control the wealthy. In 1394, Giovanni Medici founded not just a bank, but a group of like-minded men who focused on promoting business over church or government. RULE cooperates using our individual resources and influence as a unified entity to keep commerce flowing.”

Hunter picked up her drink. “How sweet. So many hyper-competitive egomaniacs cooperating like a church choir in song. Mercenaries, bribes, hand-picked judges, that kind of thing? Don’t answer, I don’t want specifics. What do you do to someone like Belenov?”

“First, make no mistake, he is not a member. He never will be. He’s a hired hand. Uncultured, despite what he thinks, with few resources to offer. He will never be invited.”

“He has considerable talent for social media and internet issues.”

Yeschenko waved her off. “One of our members, a ranking Red Army general, has a thousand Belenovs at his fingertips. Had Popov come to me, we would’ve asked our Chinese friends before we involved Belenov’s SHaRCs.”

“Will this Red Army general help us unseat Belenov when the time is right?” Hunter asked.

Yeschenko did his best to hide his surprise. In an uncharacteristic slip-up, Hunter had shown him her full hand. Despite Belenov being outside her control, she wanted to delay killing him until he finished the job.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.