Lords of Corruption Read Online Free PDF Page A

funding entirely. Conditions in the part of Africa where we operate in are getting worse, and it's hard to convince people that the money invested there is going to make a difference."
    Fedorov turned and accepted the whiskey Trent held out to him, looking down at it as though he thought it might be poisoned. "I saw your new campaign, Stephen. It's shit. Another bunch of happy niggers with shovels."
    "Aleksei --"
    " 'Our work is done,' " Fedorov continued, cutting him off. "Is that what you're trying to say? Because that's what I'm hearing -- 'Africans so happy and healthy that I think they should be giving me money.' "
    "Like I was saying, Aleksei, we have to show a certain amount of progress and stability. Our focus groups --"
    "Your focus groups?" Fedorov shouted. "Why don't you give me your focus groups' addresses? Then I can have a conversation with them about why I'm not making any money."
    "I think --"
    "Am I wrong, Stephen? Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me that I can't do simple math." "That's not what I'm saying --"
    "Don't we have photos of dead children? Why are you the only person on the fucking planet who can't find dead Africans to take pictures of? You can't walk ten feet in that country without tripping over one."
    "It isn't --"
    "Remember that picture of the starving kid with the vulture standing next to him? That made people want to give money."
    Trent tried to remember how many times that particular image had come up and how many times he was going to have to defend his decision not to use something similar.
    "Going with something like that is going to work against us in this situation, Aleksei. And we'd have to deal with a certain amount of backlash and scrutiny that I thin k w e both agree we don't need. We have to be very careful about controlling our image."
    "Charities can't run on good intentions, Stephen."
    It was impossible to know if the statement's irony was intended or if an acknowledgment of the joke was expected. In the end, Trent decided to pretend he hadn't heard. "We're still refining the campaign, and I agree that it could be more hard-hitting. Give us another week, and we'll send you something more polished. I think you'll be happy with it."
    Fedorov clearly wasn't convinced but wa s w illing to move on. "Have you hired someone to take over the farming project?"
    "I met with the last candidate yesterday." "And?"
    Trent sat down at his desk and slid a file across it. Fedorov made no move to pick it up, glancing blandly at it from his position in the center of the office.
    "His name is Josh Hagarty," Trent said. "He graduated from high school with a very average GPA -- essentially As in things he was interested in and Ds in things he wasn't. After that he went to work for an auto shop near his home and, well, wasn't exactly a model citizen."
    Fedorov remained silent, but for the firs t t ime that night, his expression showed a hint of approval.
    "He had a few minor arrests for things like disorderly conduct and marijuana possession, but nothing stuck. Then one night, he and a friend stopped at a liquor store. Josh stayed in the car while his friend went in and robbed the store at gunpoint."
    "But Hagarty just sat in the car?"
    Trent nodded. "When the police started chasing them, though, he tried to escape. And because he was drunk at the time, he hit a tree, and both he and his friend ended up pretty seriously injured."
    "How much time did he do?"
    "He cut a deal and only spent a year inside. His friend swore that Josh had no idea he was going to rob the store and that Josh screamed at him the entire time they were running from the police."
    Fedorov seemed disappointed. "And what did he learn in prison?"
    "Apparently that he didn't want to go back. When he was released, he enrolled in a community college, got straight As, transferred to a four-year college, and graduated near the top of his class in engineering."
    "He didn't find Jesus, did he? I hate those fucking people."
    "He doesn't attend