Page 8 of Roberto

“Alright, we get the fucking picture,” Niccolo snarled.

“What do you propose we do?” Dario asked me.

Niccolo interrupted. “We visit each of those fucking bankers and‘persuade’them to give us our money back!”

“I already told you why that won’t work,” I said.

“I don’t care!” Niccolo snapped.

“You sound like Adriano,” Dario rebuked him.

“Don’t insult me like that,” Niccolo replied with dark humor.

Dario turned to me. “What doyoupropose?”

“Well… I can think of one way to get 50 million euros.”

“That’s fantastic!” Niccolo said, suddenly overjoyed.

“How?” Dario asked me. “A loan?”

“No. I’d have to ask Hong Kong for our money back.”

I was referring to the massive investment we’d made two months ago when we’d joined an online gambling syndicate run out of Hong Kong.

The investment was supposed to be our ticket to legitimacy – a source of revenue that was 100% legal. If things worked out as projected, we could leave behind organized crime in two years and live on the proceeds from our investment.

Dario realized the implications immediately.

“That was supposed to be our way out,” he said quietly.

“I know.”

“We don’t have a choice!” Niccolo said. “We’re at war with Fausto. Fuck two years from now – without money, we won’t last twomonths!”

Dario sighed wearily. “Alright… call Hong Kong and get the funds back.”

“It’s not quite that simple.”

Dario and Niccolo both looked at me likeWhat the fuck are you talking about?

“There’s a two-year period during which no funds can be withdrawn,” I explained.

Their confused expressions turned to stares of shock.

“What thefuck?!”Niccolo snarled.

“It’s standard in investments of this sort. If you let people withdraw any time they want, they get spooked when the market goes down, and everyone wants to get their money back.”

“Why didn’t you fucking mention thisbefore?”Niccolo barked.

“I did! I told you there was a two-year window where the funds were committed and we wouldn’t see any returns – ”

“You made it sound like we wouldn’t see any PROFITS for two years – not that they’d lock it inside a vault and throw away the fucking key!”

“That’s what ‘committed’ means,” I snapped.

“Well MAYBE you should have explained it in everyday language, Mr. Fucking Finance Nerd – ”

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