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“Scrutiny that you do not need. An army of regulators from Athens, and an even bigger army of U.S. federal agents going through your bank file by file…line by line. Media parked out in front of your bank for a week driving your customers away. It won’t be pretty.”

There was an extremely long pause before Kapodistras replied. “Whom do you work for?”

“The American government.”

“And why are you paying me this courtesy?”

“I am an impatient man and I believe the two of us can get what we both want without turning this into a public spectacle.”

“You are interested in this Alexander Deckas?”

“Yes.”

“May I ask why?”

“Yes. Do you remember the attack on President–elect Alexander’s motorcade this past November?”

“The one that killed his wife?”

“Yes.”

“What about it?”

“Your client was the man who detonated the bomb.”

There was no uncomfortable laugh. No denial. Just silence for at least ten seconds and then, “What proof do you have?”

“More than you could imagine, including a confession, but for the sake of brevity I’m going to cut to the heart of the matter. In two and a half hours the FBI is going to announce that they have arrested Mr. Deckas. The evidence against him is overwhelming. A team of FBI agents is en route to your island right now. They should be landing in a few hours. I am offering you two choices. The easy way, or the hard way.”

“I’m listening.”

Rapp placed his hand over the mouthpiece and whispered to Dumond, “Tell Wicker and Hacket to go to his office.” Rapp removed his hand and spoke into the phone. “On Saturday night my people took Mr. Deckas into custody and transported him back to America. We went through his office and home in Limassol and are in possession of his banking records as well as a key for a safety deposit box in your bank.”

“And you would like to see what is in that box.”

“That’s correct.”

“And if I say no?”

Rapp sighed. “If you say no, I will turn everything over to the FBI. They will probably show up at your home tonight with the Greek authorities and drag you down to the bank and force you to open the box. The FBI being the thorough, distrustful gents that they are will want to go through all of your records to make sure none of your other clients are connected with Deckas. The Greek authorities will allow this because they will want to look like good allies…and after all, the man killed the future president’s wife. People will start to talk, and you will become known as the bank of choice for terrorists and assassins. Your legitimate customers will leave out of fear of association and your unsavory customers will do the same for the exact same reason. By the end of the week I would imagine your deposits will be cut in half and your fifteen percent stake in the bank will be worth considerably less. Who knows…you might even be forced out.”

“Whom do you work for? The CIA?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that, Mr. Kapodistras.”

“How can I trust you?”

Rapp detected the tension in the man’s voice. He was being faced with a very tough but ultimately easy decision. “As far as I can tell, sir, you have brought none of this on yourself. Your job is to protect your bank, your depositors, and your investors. The best way to do that is to give me what is in that box. If my instincts are correct, the sooner you distance yourself from the contents of that box the better off you and your bank will be.”

“What will prevent you from turning any evidence over to the FBI?”

“I’m not looking to put anyone in jail.”

After a long pause the banker said, “I need some time to think about this.”

“I’ll give you one minute.”

The banker laughed thinking Rapp was joking.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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