Page 217 of Affair

“Von told us to find the crypto code. Hemmingway stole it from him so he couldn’t use the money to fund Taliban militia that was attacking American Marine bases. Hemmingway wanted to be a fucking hero, and he stopped Von from getting it. Now, he wants his money. We’ve been searching for it for three years. Von made us kill Hemmingway, and made it look like insurgent fire. Then, he made us go to the Duke’s estate. We killed everyone there, and left them in the house. No one knows.”

Oh, this was bad.

Gamble kept asking questions.

“Who is Von?”

The man laughed.

“Your worst nightmare. He runsThe BlackStone Group. He’s going to find you and take you apart. Your best bet is to turn over the doctor to him, and maybe you’ll live.”

Fuck.

No.

He was never betraying Poe. He’d die for him. The man saved him, and now, he’d save Poe right back.

No.

Matter.

What.

“So Hemmingway didn’t steal the money for himself?” he asked, wanting to make sure.

The guy shook his head.

“Hemmingway was annoyingly decent. It’s hard to bribe a rich guy who has more money than he knows what to do with. He wouldn’t break the rules, and he was always trying to be a fucking hero. He just fucked over the worst bad guy there is.”

Gamble needed more.

Why?

He was going to make sure Von Donore paid for what he’d done to his Poe.

“Tell me about the money.”

As he was being held against his will, the man was buying time. He had to check in in a few minutes, and when he didn’t, backup would come out.

This Marine was fucked.

So he didn’t mind talking.

It wasn’t like he was getting away.

“The US funded it to keep the area stabilized. Only,BlackStoneneeded it unstable to make money as privatized soldiers. The war ending wasn’t profitable. The government was paying out big money to back up soldiers.”

Oh, that asshole.

Marines died in the Sandbox, and here, a business that was supposed to offer backup, was stirring the pot to get rich.

Gamble was horrified, more so since he knew plenty about that business.

The BlackStone Groupwas a military contractor who hired criminals and used them to police the war-torn regions. Most of the time, they did it for nefarious reasons.

These men were black op mercenaries, and they were fucking bad at it too. No wonder soldiers died in Afghanistan.

“Where is he?” he asked.