Page 72 of Savage Prince
Ariel looks up with a scowl. “Shhh. No need to invite bad mojo by talking about the thing we don’t speak about.”
My gaze ping-pongs back and forth between them as they talk about the dark web, which, incidentally, I actually thought was some fake thing they only talk about in movies. Apparently, I’m more sheltered than I thought, because it’s real.
“Dark web is harder to trace. There are a lot of bad people with great skill sets that make it really hard for anyone to find anything, let alone find the thing they’re actually looking for. But you’re in luck, because I’m better than all of them.”
Ariel’s confidence is somehow comforting, and Yve pulls light purple lingerie from her racks as Ariel keeps working.
“This is weird,” the hacker murmurs.
“What’s weird?” I take a step closer, attempting to look at her over the screen covering her face.
“The structure of companies doesn’t bring upanythingon the dark web.”
“Why is that weird?” My question is genuine because I feel truly naive about this stuff.
“Because even normal companies usually have their company information available for sale by someone who stole it. Nunya and its family of companies are a dead end.”
“So, what does that mean?”
Ariel finally looks up and meets my gaze. “Someone works really hard or pays a lot of money for these companies not to exist on the dark web.”
“So?”
“So, that’s something most companies would never even think about doing. Which means ...”
“What?” My anticipation is skyrocketing.
“It means that whoever runs those companies is actively working on keeping them off here. Invisible. That’s not normal, by the way. Most people don’t even know how to access the dark web. But these people are not only on it, they’re experts.”
A feeling of unease creeps over me. “So you’re saying he’s a criminal?”
She shrugs. “I have no idea, but he definitely knows someone who has skills or the insight to tell him to do this.”
She types furiously on the keyboard while I try to decide what to make of that information.
“Wait, wait a minute. I found something. Whoa. Real-time shit. Hold on to your panties, girls.” Her fingers fly.
“What?”
“I’ve got a payment trail that leads from someone who’s sloppy. Well, sloppier than your guy. A bank in Mauritius just transferred money to one of the shell companies linked to Nunya. It just happened, which means Nunya hasn’t had time to erase the evidence yet.”
“Where the hell is Mauritius?” Yve asks before I can voice the question.
“Island off the coast of Madagascar. It’s a tax haven. Lots of companies are incorporated there for tax and privacy purposes. This payment just happened. Wow. Whatever this company does, they must do it well, because they just got five hundred grand.”
“A half-million dollars? For what?”
Ariel shakes her head. “No way to know, but generally, you see the biggest payments for drugs, hits, information, and human trafficking.”
“Okay, those all sound really bad.”
Ariel keeps typing at lightning speed. “Of course they’re bad. Otherwise, they’d be using PayPal. Whoa, yep. There it goes. If I hadn’t been on here and digging, I never would’ve seen it. Holy shit. I think they know I found it.”
Her fingers burst into even faster action. “Fuck. They’ve might’ve found me. I gotta wrap this up. Shit. Not good.”
Yve and I share a concerned look. “Shut it down!”
Ari shakes her head. “Can’t. Gotta cover my tracks.”
