Chapter Two Four Chairs in the Basement

"You want me to launder money?" she asked. "I want money to grow old," Ethan said. Sophie raised an eyebrow. "New money has a smell. Old money has history. I need companies, debt, property, payrolls, tax returns. I need every dollar able to explain where it came from." She smiled for the first time. "Street guys usually ask how to shove cash into a bank." "That's why they stay on the street." Four people sat around the old table. Marcus wanted order, Victor wanted information, Miguel wanted dignity, Sophie wanted a table of her own. Ethan gave each of them an exit and a common enemy. Within a month he controlled three betting lines, two underground card rooms, and security for five clubs. He raised no flag and announced no war.