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</div><br/>Andrei was leaning back in the comfortable white leather chair. His eyes staring out of the curved window. The ground was quickly coming closer. He was strapped in his seatbelt, ready for the final descent. He had taken off that early morning, following the sun. A flight of six hours from Teterboro, the airport that mostly focused on private flights, from New York, to Santa Barbara. Close to Los Angeles. He was looking forward to spending a couple of days here, with friends. A few meetings were scheduled, a banquet, a benefit party and talks with statewide politicians who needed sponsoring for their next campaigns. The line between politics and business, or politics and the shady side of business had always been thin. His political contacts were in part his safety net too.<br/><br/>The<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FDZ9uvq-96FQ&amp;hash=7e47124ac2fc807b70754f7cdf25387c" href="https://youtu.be/DZ9uvq-96FQ" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">BBJ</a>was perfectly catered to his needs, fitted with every luxury one could imagine, he still saw it as his own personal toy. It was the pinnacle of his wealth. Something he had never imagined he would own. Brand new from the factory, costing close to 100 million dollars to fit out. The 737 was fitted with extra tanks which made intercontinental flight possible, a staircase of its own which would unfold from underneath the primary exit. That was a feature mostly made for budget airlines, who could then land on airports with little facilities, but for these kind of private jets. It meant the same thing. He could be in and out of somewhere within minutes. Not having to wait on the staircase provided by some leasing company.<br/><br/>The BBJ was as much a toy as it was a feature that was on display. Andrei Stephanopolus was a well known figure in the gossip magazines. A history of ten years in the Marine Corps, the black sheep of a wealthy New York family; kicked out onto the streets at the age of eighteen, after ten years, numerous heroic actions and a build up of wealth through investments, even though he was constantly abroad… he had been accepted back into the family without much trouble. He had made a name for himself by then, but the death of his father a few years back and propelled him from the low ranges of the Forbes list to the top thousand. It meant he could easily afford more than one of these jets.<br/><br/>His military background, his decorations on his chest (when they were necessary) meant he could mingle in the world of politics too. There had been rumours for a long time now that he was planning on making a run for the US senate, or the House… or any officer basically. Perhaps mayor of New York? At thirty five he was a bit young for it probably. He would actively feed these rumours, but the limelight he was in now, was far easier. It gave him more room to move.<br/><br/>It had been a long road to here. A very long road. When his father had kicked him out onto the streets, after a run in with the police about a few grams of coke in his car, he had been lost. His father didn’t mind the cocaine so much, the man was up to his elbows in the trade himself, the combination of real estate, proper business like the small supermarket chain they owned and smuggling drugs from South America and Europe was what brought his family wealth. No. It wasn’t the amount or that he had cocaine with him, it was that he got caught so easily, so stupidly. That he hadn’t checked his lights before he got into the car. Get pulled over for a broken taillight, how stupid could you be. His father had thrown him out to teach him a lesson. Andrei had no other idea than to turn to the military, in his case the Marine Corps, to find a roof over his head.<br/><br/>That choice had been an excellent one. Afghanistan had fallen to NATO and he was just in time for the primary invasion in Iraq. That was a time of opportunity. He had gotten through his training quickly, there was a desperate need of cannon fodder that year. And he had been on the front lines, one of the first regiments to pull in from the south. So they had found Saddams palaces on the Euphrates. Abandoned by guards. With wads of cash, mostly dollars and euros, with gold, with expensive art, statues and artifacts. It was chaos and in the chaos… plunder was easily hidden. He could remember how the Hummer he had driven, had nearly collapsed its springs because of the bars of gold stuffed underneath the seats and into any nook and cranny they could find.<br/><br/>The largest problem had been; getting the gold, the cash and especially the artifacts out of the country without being caught by the military police. That was where Gio came in. He was close friends with some of the Italian cargo pilots who supplied their base from where Africom was housed in Italy. So it was quite easy to get the money and gold transported to a place where they could more easily make a deposit. Where they could turn it around from bare cash to something digital. As soon as cryptocurrency was developed. it was easier still. And he had a stash of bitcoins when that coin was just in its infancy. When the coin was worth less than a dollar. Nowadays, with about 40K in value… the amount he hadn’t taken out of his accounts to spend money with… had increased 40.000 times in value. He had left some play money in that bitcoin account. Just to see where it was going. 50000 dollars worth of bitcoins. That got him past the billionaire mark. Taking some out of the accounts here and there.<br/><br/>He had passed it off as a ‘smart investment’ instead of a money laundering operation. They were even trying to get him to turn it into a movie, professional writers from Hollywood had contacted him. He would see them this week. He had spinned the story to investing his money from the tours of duty (being away overseas brought in extra cash, and with no housing to pay for). The inheritance from his father was play money compared to what he had made himself. And his squad of Marines that was with him at the time… all gained from the gold and cash they nicked.<br/><br/>So here he was… the BBJ settling on the tarmac with a slight bump. The engines revving up, with the spoilers coming up to turn the engine wash around and break the plane to a normal speed. The wonderful piece of equipment was just parking into its designated spot when the car of the Italians pulled up. The engines sputtering out to a stop. The gullet below the door was opening for the stairs to come out as they engine sound was dying. (<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FunZeusTrDX4&amp;hash=e51d56ae238998a6839ad3b0b7a40160" href="https://youtu.be/unZeusTrDX4" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Like so</a>, just not with that livery of course).<br/><br/>Andrei got up from his seat after opening the seat belt. He was dressed for travel. Jeans, white sneakers, white v-neck t-shirt, a black leather jacket tossed over his arm. His muscled arms showing. The shirt was tight enough to make sure his abs were visible through the fabric. One of the pilots opened the door. A six hour flight without an attendant, he liked the peace and quiet and could take care of his own drinks. The man stepped out on the little landing, orientating himself in the glaring California sun for a moment. He wore dark sunglasses, of course.<br/><br/>With on one arm his jacket, he took the small carry-on suitcase in his other hand. Other luggage would be delivered to the house… for the benefit, a suit was in order. He gave the pilot a quick nod as he sped down the stairs. He had already seen the two people there to meet him. A quick glance at Gio as he approached, but a longer glance at the pretty brunette next to him. “Gio!” he cried out, while secretly staring at the hourglass figure from behind his sunglasses.<br/><br/>The carry-on was dropped as both males hugged. “It’s so good to see you!” “How have you been!” “You’re finally here!” all said as they spoke through one another. A bit of distance created between the two. Andrei, taller than the Italian man, laying his strong hands on the others shoulders. Holding him at an arms length. “Man!” with a grin. “Who is this…” as he turned towards Giselle. “Your girlfriend?” his voice had a warm vibrato. A gentle ring to it. He brought his right hand in a broad gesture to the pretty woman. And then suddenly that hand whipped down to her brothers stomach. Giving that a nice slap. “I can see her cooking has done you well!”. Gio had grown around the middle since leaving the Corps. A grin on his face, showing off his pearly whites. But even though he was talking to her brother, his eyes remained squarely on the pretty brunette. Her beauty had a heart stopping quality. Even though his sunglasses shielded his eyes, she might feel the intensity of the stare.