ARIA

"Hmmmm, Mark."

I spoke to the empty space where he had just been standing, my voice barely a whisper in the silent office.

"What level of stupidity do you grade me on? Do you really think I bought those lies?"

The door was closed, but I could still feel the residue of his desperation in the room. Hamburg. Customs issues. A "facilitation fee." It was laughable. He had stuttered through the explanation like a schoolboy caught with a cheat sheet. He thought he was a master manipulator, but he was just a drowning man flailing in the water, pulling everyone down with him.

"I have to play along, Mr....