章節 67: Chapter 67

Akio POV

The car slows to a deliberate stop before the secluded estate, its structure, gaudy and overcompensating, is framed by the dying light of dusk. My gaze tracks every visible point of entry, noting the two guards stationed at the front—Botan's personal detail—now standing like statues flanking the massive front door. Their presence, a body without a head, is as unusual as it is telling.

I'd suspected something was amiss the moment I received word: Botan had summoned the cleaners. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't care, but their deployment to his current location—the estate of an associate with whom Botan was supposed to broker an arms deal and secure the Baltic shipping routes—for some reason—and none of them good. The cleaners were sent.

"Stay here. All of you."