CHAPTER 73: PICTURE?

The ride toward downtown, where the fashion street was located, was rather slow... because, well, it was Amine driving the SUV, and she was a well-behaved driver, not like what Joseph had experienced in the past days.

The bodyguards he had been with drove the car like a fucking rollercoaster, cutting through traffic, blowing past red lights, and of course going way over the speed limit like maniacs... as if they were some kind of presidential convoy. And now Amine was, well... like a grandma to be honest, sometimes even driving below the speed limit. Though, in a way, it was kind of good, almost relaxing, not being in a rush for once and just going with the flow.

"I still think it was a bit of a bad decision that we didn’t inform Pablo about this trip." Hana spoke from the front seat, looking into the mirror. "I mean like if something happens then—"

"If something happens, I will just press this little thing." Joseph cut in, holding up a little gadget on a keychain.

"Oh, he gave you the panic button?" She asked back.

"Yeah, though I never panic." He laughed. "But if something happens I am going to press it."

Pablo had given it to him back when they went to the park, so he could signal the snipers that shit was happening and they could shoot, and of course to Pablo and the other guards too.... but he never actually pressed it... though it was still good to have a gadget like this on him in case shit went south.

"But I believe in y’all and of course in myself." He continued.

"You can, but please, if a shooting happens, just duck down and don’t try to shoot back." Hana said, her voice now... well, a bit commanding, which surprised Joseph.

Up until this point, she had been very careful, like how Amine still is, but now she opened up a bit, raising her voice... though at least it was a sign that she was starting to be a bit more relaxed with him, finally behaving like a human.

"I wouldn’t shoot, because if something’s more than ten meters away, I can’t hit it." He laughed again, shaking his head as he remembered the national park—how he hadn’t even hit the woman once as she ran off with the gold in her hands. "Anyway, I brought this too." He showed the bundle of vacuum-sealed money... yeah, he had brought half a million with him. "Can I actually use it, or would I just raise an alert in the stores?"

His question was a smart one, because even back then, some stores would immediately report it if someone walked in with a huge amount of cash... and then their report went nowhere... because, well, the corruption was so deep that nobody gave a single fuck if someone spent a million and paid in cash. Still, at least some stores held on to a shred of belief in justice.

The government set a limit of fifty thousand, after that, you have to prove the source of your income to the store, even if you’re paying with a card. But there are back doors around it." Hana explained, glancing once again at the mirror

"Backdoors?" Joseph asked.

"Yeah, like if you want to pay with cash and have the receipt from the bank, they’ll accept it without hesitation and without sending any alert or report to the police and that cash in your hand actually has the bank’s name and the receipt stamped on it." She explained to him and yeah, when Joseph looked closer, there really was the stamp on it.

The bank details, when the money was given out, to whom it was given, and some other shit like a certificate were all there... and once again, the familiar thing appeared... it was his name on it, and with that came the thoughts.

How can it be when he was in jail the whole time? How can the national bank give out money to his name when he was blacklisted from all of it?

"Pablo did something, huh?" He asked as he looked up.

"Yeah, I don’t know the specific details, but I’m sure he talked about the foreign banks, like the private ones and so on... I don’t know exactly how it connects, but somehow he cleared your name with it before you even got out of jail."

Joseph didn’t understand it... and, to be honest, of course he didn’t, because what Hana had just said made no fucking sense... so he tried to think it through.

Pablo made connections with foreign banks... mafia banks... and they cleared my name... how can a bank overwrite a government’s judicial decisions... how, when I was convicted and banned from everything... oh.

He got it.

Of course Pablo could do it, because he said it himself... he blackmailed the fucking Justice Minister or whoever the fuck, and that’s how even the pardon was granted... and in the process she actually lifted the ban from the banks too... and the money come in from the shell companies Pablo talked about.

You smart motherfucker... but spends money like a gold digger.

It was insane how inconsistent Pablo was... once proving himself a smart man, and then just spending money like they had infinite resources and now Joseph realized too that this Obsidian Bank was connected to all of it.

"So... which one should I use?" he asked. "The card is traceable, even if it’s a foreign one, and the cash has serial numbers too... or should I not even give a fuck about it?"

Another great question, though he knows very well that he doesn’t need to worry about it as long as the DSA is on his side

"It depends how you feel, but in my opinion a card is better, at least you’re faster with paying, don’t need to count it." Hana spoke again and she was right, carrying half a million out in the open and then counting it... not the best thing to do.

So he decided he was going to pay with a card... but there was one thing they completely skipped over, which was actually a pretty big deal: he is Joseph Cassian, and people would definitely recognize him...

And it happened the moment Amine parked and they got out of the car... but it wasn’t what he expected.

"Excuse me, sir!" A young voice and when he looked it was a young black boy maybe sixteen with a wide grin on his face.

"Yes?" Joseph asked, unable to even imagine what the kid wanted, while Amine and Hans positioned themselves just in case.

"I’m... a h-huge fan. C-can I get a picture?"

can I get some powerstones :(