He lowered himself into the chair across from me, stretching his legs out, studying my expression like I was a puzzle he intended to solve.
“So,” he said lightly. “Viktor’s not here. That explains some of the peace and quiet. But it doesn’t explain why you look like someone stole your favorite teddy bear and pissed all over it.”
I exhaled. “It’s been a long morning.”
“I got your message,” he said. “Something about Revenant wanting us to manage a transfer? Drones? What’s the deal?”
Finally, something we could discuss without me wanting to strangle Viktor.
I sat straighter. “Revenant has… gotten their hands on some drones. Several units. They’re handing them over to a group of rebels in a neighboring territory.”
“Rebel as in ‘trying to build a democracy,’ or rebel as in ‘trying to build a funeral pyre’?”
“The latter,” I said.
Andrei grimaced. “Of course. Revenant does love a good extremist.”
“Indeed.”
“And this rebel group is led by…?”
“A man named Bashir al-Khayran.”
Andrei’s eyebrows rose. “Oh. Fantastic. That sounds fun.”
“Revenant is calling them freedom fighters,” I said dryly.
“And we believe that?” he asked.
“No.”
“Good, because that would have worried me.”
His light humor didn’t mask the intelligence behind his eyes. He was quick, alert, and read between the lines faster than most men could read the lines themselves.
“So what exactly is our role?” he asked.
“Security oversight. Negotiation. Logistics. Ensuring the shipment arrives on schedule without exposing Revenant’s involvement.”
“In other words,” he said, leaning back, “we’re babysitting weapons we don’t approve of for people we don’t trust on behalf of an organization we don’t particularly like.”
“For a lot of money. That is the summary, yes.”
He took a sip of his coffee. “Great. Can’t wait.”
I nodded. “We’re also being assigned an internal liaison. One of their own operatives, in fact.”
He blinked. “That’s new. Who is she?”
“She’s—”
I hesitated.
He caught it instantly.
“Oh, no,” Andrei moaned. “What was that pause?”
“Nothing,” I lied.
