I’ve always been pretty much on the outside of any side you can find. - Terry Hayes

Several guards and retainers exchanged a glance—Gaza was not somewhere to be taken lightly; it was probably the only place in the world that made Afghanistan look safe.

“Then what happened?” I asked.
“The Russian stopped calling, more important, the bills weren’t paid—I guess he either went broke or another oligarch had him killed.”
Probably the latter, I thought. That was the way most business disputes were settled in Russia.

Set amid rolling acres of lavender, the complex of seven luxurious homes, swimming pools and lavish stables was surrounded by a twelve-foot wall patrolled by what we believed to be Albanians armed with Skorpion machine pistols. This was strange, given that the family was in the wholesale florist business. Maybe flower theft was a bigger problem in northern Greece than most people realized.