Page 159 of Capuleto

"All expenses paid."

"You should have said that earlier, I'll get it in three. What kind of information do you need?"

"Find the exact location of the number I'm going to give you, and do it fast."

"I'm all ears."

A minute later, I was climbing the stairs to Arasagasti's office with his secretary on my heels, shouting for me to stop.

"Mr. Capuleto, please, I told you he's in a very important meeting."

"So is mine," I confirmed, my hand already on the door handle.

"Mr. Capuleto!" she exclaimed.

I opened the door without hesitation. Karlos stood there, pants around his ankles, with a brunette whispering to his dick.

The secretary screamed.

"Berta!" the director cried out in distress, trying to push the brunette away from his treat. "I told you not to let anyone disturb me."

"Don't blame her. She did warn me that your dick was in a meeting."

"I did not say that!" the secretary exclaimed, embarrassed.

The brunette pulled that minuscule thing out of her mouth and looked at me lustfully. I would have looked at myself the same way, considering the hardware the Basque had.

Arasagasti nudged her to hurry and leave. She stood up, pulling down her red dress, wiping the smeared lipstick with the back of her hand before grabbing a sequined gold purse.

She gave me a seductive smile as she walked by and stopped. She smelled like a floral perfume of dubious origin.

"If you feel like trying, I offer a two-for-one deal. The first blowjob is on the house; you only pay for the second. Ask Charly for my number." She blew me a kiss. I didn't respond, too pissed at the Basque to focus on her.

Arasagasti was sweating. His right hand tried to straighten an overly wrinkled shirt.

"Can you explain...?!"

Those three words were all I let him say before grabbing him by the neck and slamming him against the wall.

"Listen, you piece of shit, I'm the one who talks here. I don't give a damn if you pay a whore to blow you; what matters is that you work for Yuri Korolev." At the mention of the name, his red, sweat-drenched face deprived of oxygen turned crimson. "If I were you, I wouldn't deny having an extracurricular relationship with him because I'm here for the truth and to find out where that stinking rat is hiding."

"If I do..."

"If you do, you'll have a chance to stay alive; if not, I'll hang you like a fucking elk on the wall, though I think your wife is the one with the horns."

The port director looked at me with sorrow.

Arasagasti wasn't a tough guy, I could feel his trembling between my fingers.

In the report we requested back in the day, he was described as a model man, Catholic, right-wing, and not easily influenced. However, at the party, we discovered he had a certain weakness when he drank and often accepted invitations from beautiful women like mine.

I lowered him from the wall and asked him to talk. He rubbed his hands, agitated. He had to go to the liquor cabinet to pour himself a drink and calm his nerves.

He asked for a minute to tell his secretary she could go home, that he would stay a little longer.

He leaned against the desk and, before telling me how he ended up being Yuri's whore, made me promise to protect him. Both him and Andrea.

"If the night ends as I hope, you won't need protection. Talk," I demanded curtly.

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