corridor until he could hear girls giggling.
He took a moment to listen through the locked door, smiling. So many pretty girls in this batch, he thought. Their photos had already been e-mailed to his investor and he anticipated a high level of interest, especially for the blonde. She would fetch well over a million US dollars.
He frowned as he remembered what had driven him to walk the battlements. He left the girls and gatehouse, locking the heavy doors behind him. Standing on the battlements, he took out his phone and dialed Rémi again.
Finally his call was answered. “Who is this? Do you know what time it is?” The accent was French and heavily laced with sleep.
“Get out of bed, you lazy dog, we’ve got problems.”
“Keep your pants on. I was asleep.”
“Then wake the fuck up.”
“What’s wrong? Did the girls arrive?”
“It’s not the girls; it’s the talent-spotting gang.”
“Gusztáv and his men?”
“Yes, they’re all dead. Someone blew up half the manor and killed them all.”
“ Merde ! Do you know who did it?”
“He called me right before it happened. Said that Interpol was onto them.”
“That’s not possible. I’d know about it. We don’t have any operations running in that area. It has to be local police or another gang.”
“I own the fucking police, Rémi. They’re the ones who confirmed the hit. It was brutal. Almost everyone was killed and none of my people have any idea who did this. That’s why I called you.”
“I don’t know who it was, but I’m telling you, it wasn’t Interpol.”
András exhaled deeply. “You’ve really got no fucking idea? You’re my Interpol agent! Why do I even pay you?”
“András, be reasonable.”
“No, you be reasonable. What do you think our investors will do when they find out about this? Those insane bastards will chop off my fingers and feed them to me. Shit, we’ll be lucky if they don’t chop off our heads.”
“Calm down, calm down. I’ll put some feelers out. We’ll find out who’s responsible and you can hit them back. There’s no need to involve the investors. You can find another gang to source the product; there are plenty out there to choose from.”
“Find me the bastards who did this, Rémi. I’m going to tighten security but I can’t have some invisible threat jeopardizing my operations.”
“OK, I’ll look into it. Is there anything else?”
“Yes, hurry up and confirm the names I sent you.”
“Already under way. I’ll contact you in the morning.”
The Hungarian syndicate boss ended the call and headed back to his office. He needed to have this problem well in hand before his guests started arriving.
CHAPTER 11
RESIDENCE OF THE MORI-KAI OYABUN, HIMEJI, HYOGO PREFECTURE, JAPAN
Masateru sat in his master’s waiting room and reread the two documents. Information regarding Mori-Kai business was never e-mailed to the oyabun . He insisted on hard copies, kept in a safe or immediately destroyed. Masateru memorized the photos on one of the documents, placed them back into the manila folder, and knocked on the door to his master’s office.
“Enter!”
Masateru stepped into the office of one of the most powerful men in the district. The room was impressive, a modern renovation fusing traditional Japanese architecture with cutting-edge building materials and technology. Visitors were immediately confronted by the view overlooking the estate’s manicured gardens and a lush green valley. The layered roofs of Himeji Castle were visible in the distance. Like an ancient sentinel, it watched over the sprawling city, a stark reminder of a bygone era.
The oyabun sat at his desk, working on a laptop. Dressed in a silk robe and slippers, he was a physically unimposing man: short with shoulder-length gray hair and a small, neatly trimmed moustache. To the casual observer he looked more like an artist than a crime boss.
Masateru walked quickly across the room and offered the folder. “A report
He took a moment to listen through the locked door, smiling. So many pretty girls in this batch, he thought. Their photos had already been e-mailed to his investor and he anticipated a high level of interest, especially for the blonde. She would fetch well over a million US dollars.
He frowned as he remembered what had driven him to walk the battlements. He left the girls and gatehouse, locking the heavy doors behind him. Standing on the battlements, he took out his phone and dialed Rémi again.
Finally his call was answered. “Who is this? Do you know what time it is?” The accent was French and heavily laced with sleep.
“Get out of bed, you lazy dog, we’ve got problems.”
“Keep your pants on. I was asleep.”
“Then wake the fuck up.”
“What’s wrong? Did the girls arrive?”
“It’s not the girls; it’s the talent-spotting gang.”
“Gusztáv and his men?”
“Yes, they’re all dead. Someone blew up half the manor and killed them all.”
“ Merde ! Do you know who did it?”
“He called me right before it happened. Said that Interpol was onto them.”
“That’s not possible. I’d know about it. We don’t have any operations running in that area. It has to be local police or another gang.”
“I own the fucking police, Rémi. They’re the ones who confirmed the hit. It was brutal. Almost everyone was killed and none of my people have any idea who did this. That’s why I called you.”
“I don’t know who it was, but I’m telling you, it wasn’t Interpol.”
András exhaled deeply. “You’ve really got no fucking idea? You’re my Interpol agent! Why do I even pay you?”
“András, be reasonable.”
“No, you be reasonable. What do you think our investors will do when they find out about this? Those insane bastards will chop off my fingers and feed them to me. Shit, we’ll be lucky if they don’t chop off our heads.”
“Calm down, calm down. I’ll put some feelers out. We’ll find out who’s responsible and you can hit them back. There’s no need to involve the investors. You can find another gang to source the product; there are plenty out there to choose from.”
“Find me the bastards who did this, Rémi. I’m going to tighten security but I can’t have some invisible threat jeopardizing my operations.”
“OK, I’ll look into it. Is there anything else?”
“Yes, hurry up and confirm the names I sent you.”
“Already under way. I’ll contact you in the morning.”
The Hungarian syndicate boss ended the call and headed back to his office. He needed to have this problem well in hand before his guests started arriving.
CHAPTER 11
RESIDENCE OF THE MORI-KAI OYABUN, HIMEJI, HYOGO PREFECTURE, JAPAN
Masateru sat in his master’s waiting room and reread the two documents. Information regarding Mori-Kai business was never e-mailed to the oyabun . He insisted on hard copies, kept in a safe or immediately destroyed. Masateru memorized the photos on one of the documents, placed them back into the manila folder, and knocked on the door to his master’s office.
“Enter!”
Masateru stepped into the office of one of the most powerful men in the district. The room was impressive, a modern renovation fusing traditional Japanese architecture with cutting-edge building materials and technology. Visitors were immediately confronted by the view overlooking the estate’s manicured gardens and a lush green valley. The layered roofs of Himeji Castle were visible in the distance. Like an ancient sentinel, it watched over the sprawling city, a stark reminder of a bygone era.
The oyabun sat at his desk, working on a laptop. Dressed in a silk robe and slippers, he was a physically unimposing man: short with shoulder-length gray hair and a small, neatly trimmed moustache. To the casual observer he looked more like an artist than a crime boss.
Masateru walked quickly across the room and offered the folder. “A report
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