Lords of Corruption Read Online Free PDF

church, and there's n o m ention of religiosity from our private investigators."
    Fedorov nodded noncommittally.
    "Because of his background, he didn't get any good job offers, and that prompted him to pursue an MBA. He's just now graduating, again near the top of his class, despite holding a full-time job the entire time."
    "And?"
    "And he's drowning in student loans and every other kind of debt. He has a sister he's extremely close to who'll be graduating from high school next year, and he doesn't have the money to send her to college."
    "Are any other companies sniffing around him?"
    "He's had a fair number of interviews, but even with his qualifications, his background has kept him from getting any offers. He does have a meeting next week with a small company near his school called Alder Data Systems. They don't have a terribly sophisticated hiring process, and according to our people, they may have overlooked his problems with the law."
    "I take it we're going to fix that?"
    "It's being taken care of as we speak."
    "I'm not impressed, Stephen. After all the time and money we've spent on this search, this is the best you can do?"
    If there was one universal truth, it was that Fedorov was never satisfied.
    "There's no such thing as a perfect candidate, Aleksei, but he's smart as hell, charismatic, good-looking, and well-educated. More importantly, he's desperate -- for money, to rise above his upbringing, to prove he's changed. He's no angel, and he has a sister who's important to him. I'm not sure it would be possible to find someone who fits the profile you created any better."
    Fedorov's expression darkened subtly. "Because of a few minor scrapes with the law and the fact that he was driving the wrong car at the wrong time?"
    "There's only so far we can go down that path, Aleksei. I can sell Josh to the board as a redemption story. And if it ever comes up, I can play the same card with the press. If we go with someone whose background is any worse, it's going to generate questions that aren't so easily answered."
    "More attention than we got from that little saint you hired before? I told you he would be a problem. But you didn't listen to me."
    "You have to understand that --"
    "What I understand," he interrupted, "is that I'm not here to fix your fucking mistakes. What you should understand is that I'm holding you personally responsible this time. Do you understand me? Personally responsible."

    Chapter 4.
    "Thanks for the ride, man." Josh slapped the side of the old pickup, and the driver pulled away, leaving him on the side of the deserted road with nothing but the duffel slung over his shoulder.
    The leaves were starting to change, and they crunched beneath his feet as he made his way down a wide dirt track that split off from the asphalt. The sun hadn't hit the mountains yet, but when it did, the still air would turn cold quickly. He increased his pace, intent on making it home before he had to dig around for a jacket.
    He'd exchanged the plane ticket from New York back to school for one to Kentucky. His finals were done, and he'd decided that the tiny fall graduation ceremony would be more depressing than uplifting, so it was a good time to squeeze in a trip home. Whether it would be a quick visit before starting his life or a permanen t r eturn to his disastrous past was yet to be seen. No point in dwelling on that now, though. Plenty of time to wallow later.
    His sister hadn't been at the airport to pick him up as agreed, and when he'd called, he'd found that the phone was out of service. Not that this was necessarily a cause for alarm. The old Ford he'd scammed from an auto shop he'd worked for had probably broken down again, and the phone service was always in the process of being cut off or reinstated. But there was no point in lamenting that, either. It was just the way things were. Positive thoughts, he told himself. Positive thoughts.
    It was easy to forget how beautiful Kentucky was, but he was quickly