Page 108 of Kingmakers, Year Four

A king has few friends. A dictator has none.

“We all have our demons,” I say. “I know mine too well to lose any sleep over them.”

“Indeed,” Marko says, angry and unsatisfied by my answers. “Well, don’t worry, Ivan. This will all be over soon. Only a few more payments to make.”

I don’t like the sound of that. Marko said it would be five years. I never believed that . . . and I certainly don’t like the escalation of the timeline.

Marko holds the phone up to my ear, already dialing.

When Dominik answers, our conversation is brief.

“We had a problem with the last transfer out of Gazprombank,” he says.

“What kind of problem?” I ask.

“Foma Kushnir said there were irregularities with our account. He wanted to order an audit.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him to check with the bank director, to buy us time. Then I had Zima hack in to work his magic. We erased all recurring entries. Cash-flow on Monday is now good. Moroz will get his payment right on time.”

“I better,” Marko growls, listening carefully.

“Good,” I say to Dom. “Thank you for handling that.”

Marko ends the call, slipping the phone back into his pocket.

My heart is racing, though I try not to let him perceive so much as a flicker of an eyelash.

Maybe there was a problem at the bank and maybe there wasn’t.

Either way, Dominik’s actual message is clear:

We

Erased

All

Recurring

Entries

Cash-flow

On

Monday

Is

Now

Good

27

Ares

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