The sun is just beginning to rise when Arkady arrives in person, his face strained as he drops a stack of files on my desk.
“The lead bank’s president claims they received information suggesting the project was a money laundering operation,” he explains.
“Financial records and internal communications, mostly. Some of it manufactured, some of it real but taken wildly out of context.” Arkady spreads out several documents. “Whoever did this had access to material only someone inside our organization would have.”
I examine the financial records, anger building with each page I turn. These are sophisticated forgeries—transaction histories and wire transfers doctored to make legitimate business dealings look suspicious.
“This is professional work,” I mutter. “Not Barkov. He’s always been a b
