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13 |Marseilles, France
Alexie Tankov stared appreciatively at the half-dozen bronzed and fit women lounging around the pool. He could have any one of them he wanted, any time he wanted. And he had.
They were all bought and paid for.
He preferred professionals. His life left him with little time to meet women, and women were simply baggage not worth the effort. Why waste time with an emotional relationship, when a sexual one could be had for a few hundred Euros a night? He had the money, his entire team did, their new line of work since leaving the Russian Special Forces, Spetsnaz, very lucrative.
Lucrative enough for him to have half a dozen houses around the globe, cars that would be the envy of any adrenaline junkie, and all the women he could possibly want, in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
It was a good life.
Yet decadence without excitement wasn’t the life for him. He had enough in the bank—or banks—to last him several lifetimes, but he wasn’t in it for the money.
At least not entirely.
He was in it for the thrill of the chase.
His phone vibrated beside him, and he picked it up, checking the call display.
Dimitri.
He smiled. Dimitri would never call him unless he had found something worth his while. He swiped his thumb. “Da?”
“I’ve got something for you. Something big.”
His smile grew. “What is it?”
“Are you sitting down?”
“Dimitri, you’re killing me!”
His friend laughed. “Someone might have just found the Amber Room.”
Tankov bolted upright. “Please tell me this isn’t one of your jokes.”
“No joke, my friend. From what I can tell, it was found just a few hours ago, which means it’s probably not properly secured yet, considering the size of it.”
Tankov rose. “Where?”
“Poland.”
“Okay. Notify the team. Wheels up in two hours.”
“We’re going to need a special buyer for this one.”
“What’s the estimated value?”
“Anywhere from one hundred to five hundred.”
Tankov stared at the bevy of beauties as he headed inside, already thinking of doubling his stable. “I’ve got someone in mind who this would be perfect for. And a hundred million would be nothing to him.”