hidden | ethma

thirty four

i tentatively follow ethan into his apartment. is he really going to tell me what's going on with alec and the rest?

ethan walks into the kitchen and i take a seat on the couch.

ethan returns to the living area with a snickers bar in his hand. he unwraps it and breaks off half for me. i thank him silently as he sits on the coffee table across from me, our knees almost touching.

"first off," he says. "i don't ever want you following me ever again, because now we're both in deep shit for your little stunt."

i swallow. "okay," i say. "i won't."

"yeah, you said that last time."

i look down at my lap. what was i thinking? did i honestly think i would get away with this?

ethan finishes eating his snickers, chewing thoughtfully. he puts his hands on his knees, looking to the floor.

i swallow the last of my snickers and look at ethan. he sighs and looks up at me.

"i moved to the portland when i was twenty," he says. "a lot of shit happened just before that, so i wanted to get the hell out of jersey."

i nod slowly.

"long story short," he says. "i met alec and the rest." he rubs his hands over his knees, letting out a breath. "they run a black market operation," he says. "companies that are failing or having trouble with finances reach out to them to help them get more income, thus helping their companies become more successful."

"how... how do they get the money?"

a crooked smile spreads across ethan's face. "that's the key." he runs his tongue over his lips briefly before going on. he leans forward, lowering his voice. "alec wolfe is a very important person," he says slowly, his voice raspy. "he knows a lot of important people, and he knows how to talk to them." ethan meets my gaze. "if a company reaches out to him, he gets money for that company by compensating it from another."

i furrow my brow. "so... he gets money for the new company from a company he already manages?"

ethan nods. "exactly. nobody wins but him."

out of all the things i'd expected, i can honestly say that was not one of them. it's genius, really.

"how do none of these companies find out?" i ask.

"that's where alec's charisma comes in. he convinces the chairmen of the company who detect foul play that it's only the economy taking their money, not him. he'll do anything to ensure they don't find out. he throws them banquets and parties." ethan runs a hand through his hair. "see, he doesn't entirely compensate the other companies with the money he takes. he takes sixty percent of the money for our organization and only uses forty percent to indemnify other companies."

"so if he takes fifty thousand dollars from one company to reimburse another..."

"only twenty thousand goes to the company, leaving thirty thousand for himself and the rest of us that help him out."

"wow," i breathe, leaning back on the couch. "wait, but what happens if executives suspecting foul play don't buy into his charisma?"