markets and ministers alike. Yet beneath the polish lay the truth�a sophisticated wash, turning streams of blood money into pristine flows, feeding the syndicate�s veins.
�Everything is in place,� Lesley said, his voice carrying the measured confidence of a man who had rehearsed this line in his head a dozen times. �The first company is already registered in the Zimbabwean mining sector. Within three months, it will be fully operational.�
Carlos regarded him in silence, the pause stretching long enough to feel like scrutiny rather than stillness. Then, slowly, he lifted the whisky glass to his lips, his eyes never leaving Lesley�s.
�Make sure we use people who are loyal,� he said at last, the words quiet but heavy, like a warning against complacency.
Finally, Carlos gave a single, measured nod�approval wrapped in silence�before shifting his gaze to McBride.
�Honourable Ted,� he began, the title rolling off his tongue with deliberate weight. He paused, lifting the glass and letting the whisky burn its slow path down before speaking again.
�I�ve worked with La Roca for many years,� he said, his voice low, almost reflective. �He has walked with me through fire and shadows.� Another pause, another sip�the kind that spoke of patience and control. Then his eyes sharpened, pinning McBride with a look that allowed no room for misunderstanding.
�I trust him when he says you�re the right man to represent us here� The words hung in the air like a velvet noose�soft, but suffocating. Carlos leaned back slightly, the empty glass tilting in his fingers as he delivered the final line, casual in tone, lethal in implication.
�How much can you clean this month?�
He drained the last of his whisky, the silence that followed louder than any threat, and waited for McBride to answer.
�A hundred� maybe a hundred and fifty, within the next three weeks,� McBride said at last, the words leaving his mouth with a controlled calm that didn�t match the churn beneath. He was still waiting for it�the question everyone feared�the one that could turn this quiet room into a killing floor.