Page 27 of At Midnight

Bastien flinched and stared into his drink. “That’s up to Valerian.”

“The guards must have informed Piotr Ilyin that he got us back,” Raphael prodded him.

“I have to assume theydid. There are Russian guards everywhere. They’re glaring at me when I go take a piss. They’re our largest client. They’re our predominant client. Piotr seemed to know everything about Geneva Trust even before we do.”

“I don’t like that we do so much business with the Ilyin organization.”

Bastien shrugged. “That’s also Valerian’s decision.”

Raphael set his glass on the coffee table betweenthem. “What if it wasn’t his decision?”

Bastien didn’t even look up at him. “It is his decision.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“What are you going to do, kick the Ilyin Bratva out of the bank?”

Raphael was disconcerted that he was so transparent, but he was seeking Bastien’s support. “Yes. That’s exactly the plan.”

“You were gone, Raphael. You left. You can’t sweep in here and take over by ashareholders’ vote. You need to look at the bank’s finances. Without the Ilyins’ money, we’re insolvent. Instantly insolvent. The bank would collapse without them. Our only option would be to sell our assets and liabilities to another institution to recoup what we could.”

Raphael frowned. “Then we’ll divest them slowly as we take on other customers. We’ve always had more inquiries than we couldhandle.”

“Not anymore, not after we took damage from the authorities. You can’t divest them. The last time we tried, they threatened our families. They aren’t screwing around. They’re the Russian mob, and we’re a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ilyin Bratva, now.”

Raphael’s heart sank. “I’ll figure out a way to recapitalize us.”

“You’ve been a personal bodyguard for a decade and a half, Raphael.You don’t know anything about banking. You didn’t even take a degree at university.”

This was why Raphael was asking questions and not supplying information: he had suspected that his father and family didn’t know much, if anything, about Dieter Schwarz.

They didn’t realize the training he’d received during his military years.

They didn’t know about his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in London.

They didn’t know about Rogue Security.

Raphael had been a professional gambler for months, and he knew how to hide the fact that he had pocket aces.

“Yes,” he said, “you’re right, Uncle Bast, but I learned a great deal by listening to Wulfram von Hannover.”

“How to throw your body to take a bullet for him? That’ll come in handy when you need to apologize to Piotr Ilyin and beg for your life,as well as Flicka’s and Alina’s.”

“It’s where I learned leadership and loyalty.”

“Those are pretty words.”

“It’s where I learned how to stage a coup.”

“Fascinating. Are you planning to stage a coup and install military junta in the bank?”

“Yes, and I need your help.”

“You will fail spectacularly, and you might get us all killed.”

“That’s the risk when you stage a coup.”

“Nerves of steel,when you’re discussing it over day-drinking.”