Page 129 of Roberto

I had a dozen credit cards with multi-million-dollar limits.

Four months ago, I could have paid without a second thought.

But while trying to keep the family’s finances afloat, I had maxed out every single one. Even my American Express Black Card would balk at adding another $500,000 to the tab I owed.

But there was another possible solution.

“Do they take Bitcoin?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Give me their payment information.”

Bitcoin wallets – accounts that sent and received Bitcoin – had alphanumeric ‘addresses’ that could be anywhere from 26 to 90 digits. The jet company’s was only 36.

I wrote down the string of letters and numbers and read it back to the broker. Once he confirmed the address, I told him I would call back when the transfer was complete.

I immediately opened up the Coinbase app on my phone. Coinbase was one of the largest international exchanges for cryptocurrency trading, and my account with them had the most money out of all the crypto accounts I’d opened six months ago.

After entering my password, I sent the jet company $500,000 worth of Bitcoin.

One of the benefits of Bitcoin was that it took very little time to process a transaction. An international wire transfer could take one to five days – but with Bitcoin, the recipient usually got their funds within 15 to 30 minutes.

I called the broker back and sent him a screenshot of the transaction.

“Okay, I’ll forward this to the client and send you a confirmation when they get the funds.”

“Excellent. Call me if there are any problems.”

As soon as I hung up, I texted Niccolo.

Arranged jet – leaving Hong Kong tomorrow morning at 11 AM local time.

Nic texted me back a thumbs-up.

Any word from Venice?I texted.

Not yet.

Let me know.

He sent me another thumbs-up.

Now I had to call Mei-ling and tell her we would leave tomorrow morning.

My stomach twisted slightly as I wondered whether she still wanted to go.

Of course she does.

In exchange for helping you get the gun and C4, she made you promise to take her with you.

Why WOULDN’T she go?

My fears were irrational, but they still made my guts churn as I called her cell.

She didn’t answer, so I left a message.

“Something’s come up, so I had to book a flight leaving Hong Kong tomorrow morning at 11 AM. I want you to go with me… and I just need to confirm you still want to come. We can talk about it tonight.” My voice softened as I smiled. “I’ll see you at 10 o’clock.”

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