Page 38 of Final Installment
“And no one from your family tried to pay off officials?Money will make anything disappear there.”
“Not my charges,” he muttered.“Luka was able to pay to shorten the sentence.”
“Which is why you only did two years.”
Kristo nodded.“I was lucky all things considered.”
I wasn’t sure I’d go that far.Frankly, I was shocked that Luka would have allowed his blood relative to suffer like that when a little more money might have solved the problem.So much for family loyalty!It left me wondering what awaited my sister once she was Luka’s wife.Would he protect her?Or would he sacrifice her as easily as he had his cousin?
A ride share car pulled up to the sidewalk, and I slipped into the backseat first.As Kristo followed, I made quick small talk with the driver who spoke English about as well as I spoke Mandarin.As the car merged into traffic, Kristo asked, “When did you learn Chinese?”
“I spent two summers in Singapore when I was in high school and picked up some useful Mandarin.I did a semester internship in Beijing during my bachelor’s and then another semester in Hong Kong where I learned some Cantonese.I read better than I can speak.I’m conversational.I still need a lot of work to master it.”
He settled back in his seat and swiped at his phone screen.“Do you enjoy working for family?”
“I do.Do you?”
He smirked.“Some days are better than others.”He pocketed his phone.“What business were you handling tonight?”
I shifted in my seat but kept an eye on the windshield.The drivers here were a bit too aggressive for my taste, and I always felt like I needed to have my hand braced on the door or the seat.“Final negotiations on taking over the supply chain logistics in South and North America for a Shanghai-based company.”
“And you enjoy that?”Kristo asked with badly disguised distaste.
“I do.I like puzzles.”I studied him for a moment, taking in his obviously tailor-made suit and shoes.“What do you do?”
“A little of this and a little of that,” he replied with a coy smile.“Whatever Luka needs me to do.”
“Including coming to China to fail?”
He laughed harshly.“It seems so.”He inhaled a cleansing breath and pocketed his phone.“A few years ago, we inherited a large warehouse complex when a small outfit we financed defaulted on their loans.”
“Inherited?What was in it before?”
“It was a leather factory.”
I frowned as I tried to imagine how that would have made any financial sense.“Were you hoping they would default so you could get your hands on the real estate instead?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“We were looking ahead to the end of the truce and the return of some property that’s been kept from us.A trade route, if you will, and the warehouse complex is in a very useful part of a certain city near a certain port where things that aren’t leather arrive on ships.”
“Things?”
He gave me a look.“Narkotike.”
“Oh.”I suddenly regretted my decision to get into a car with him.In Albanian, I quickly instructed, “Don’t say anything else about that, please.Not here.”
He understood and eyed the driver who seemed to be totally oblivious to anything but the congested traffic and the K-Pop tune blaring out of his speakers.
“You’re here looking for something legitimate?”I asked, still in Albanian.
He nodded.“The complex has access to the port in Vlorrë.We need some kind of trade, you understand?”
To launder money and hide shipments.“And you came here for it?”
“I’ve been to Hong Kong, Beijing and a few others.I can’t find anyone who will work with us.”
