Page 81 of Sexting the Pakhan
“What did you do?”
He says nothing.
Dima steps closer behind him. Anton’s eyes flick to the movement.
“What did you do?” I ask again.
“I moved money,” he says finally.
Pavel stills.
Stepan’s expression goes flat.
Anton looks at me quickly. “I moved from one of the side accounts to cover a debt.”
“What debt?”
He says nothing.
Dima hits him once across the mouth. The chair jerks. Anton spits blood and curses.
“What debt?” I repeat.
“Cards,” he says, breathing hard. “A private game. It got out of hand.”
“How much?”
He looks ashamed now, which is more useful than fear. “Eight hundred.”
“Thousand?”
His silence answers.
Stepan mutters something under his breath.
I stare at Anton.
Anton lifts his head. “That’s why I ran. I thought this was about the money. I thought you found that.”
“You stole from me.”
“I borrowed.”
“You stole.”
“Yes,” he snaps. “Fine. I stole. But I didn’t sell you out.”
For a moment, I almost believe him.
Then Pavel says, “The drive.”
Everyone turns.
Pavel bends near the desk and pulls a small black USB from his bag. “Found in Anton’s car. Behind the glove box.”
Anton frowns. “That’s not mine.”
Pavel plugs it into the laptop. A few clicks. Then he turns the screen toward me. The library blueprints, with all the sections covered, and the books we use for the drop marked.
