“Once we have confirmation of the transfer,” Liang said, “your assets will be in Dubai within twenty-four hours.”
Twenty-four hours. Not enough time. Too much time. Everything depended on what happened in between.
“Perfect,” I said, even though nothing about this was perfect.
We walked back toward the lobby together. Halfway down the hall, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Once. Then again. Insistent. Priority alert.
I excused myself with a polite nod and stepped out of the main flow of traffic, into a small alcove where a vending machine hummed quietly.
The screen lit up with a name I knew too well.
It was Katya.
My chest tightened.
I opened the message.
Revenant has Viktor, Kara, Roman, Lev, Dmitri, but not me. I got out on my own, but they’re all still hostages. We need to move now.
For a second, all the air left my lungs.
The fluorescent lights above the alcove seemed too bright, the sounds of the factory too distant. My pulse beat hard against the inside of my throat.
She escaped.
Of course she did.
I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
I texted back with fingers that weren’t shaking, even if my insides were.
Where are you?
Her reply came fast.
Safehouse. The one your brothers showed me. In Dubai.
I typed back.
Stay put. I’m redirecting the shipment. Then I’m coming home.
I slid the phone back into my pocket and rejoined Liang, the polite corporate mask slipping back over my face by habit.
“Everything all right, Mr. Dragunov?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “Just a complication in my schedule. Nothing you need to worry about.”
He gave me the kind of smile businessmen give when they’re relieved that they don’t have to care. “We’ll send you the final documentation this evening.”
“I’ll be on a plane by then,” I said. “My team in Dubai will receive it.”
He nodded and escorted me to the entrance.
Outside, the late-afternoon sky hung heavy with smog. The driver was waiting. It was another forgettable man in a black car with tinted windows.
As we pulled away from the factory, I watched the building grow smaller in the rearview mirror. Somewhere inside, more drones sat in crates. Somewhere inside, more decisions had already been made by people who thought they were safe.
I’d just changed the map under their feet.
