Merlin nodded. "Take us to him."

The security guard promptly replied, "Please, follow me."

After that, he immediately turned and headed inside as Charlie and Merlin followed him to the second office at the very end of the second floor.

As the security guard pointed at the door, Merlin walked up to it and knocked twice.

"Come in," a voice inside said in French.

As Merlin opened the door with Charlie right behind him, the man exclaimed in surprise when he saw them, "Who are you people?"

Still, Charlie had reached into his mind even as he finished speaking, and he turned to Merlin and said, "Go on, ask him about the freight management here and Duca's transport records—ideally, their railway usage."

Merlin immediately did so, once again speaking in French.

The deputy manager promptly gave them the full picture.

As it turned out, Duca Mines transported nearly 40 million tons of phosphate every year, of which more than 10 million tons were exported as raw materials. The rest were re