“It is, if you plan on walking into a trap,” Eva said without taking her eyes off the book.
The room stilled.
Ilya and Adrik both looked at me, then slowly shifted their gazes to her.
Adrik cleared his throat. “What do you mean?”
She raised her head and met my gaze, as if asking my permission to speak. This was the opportunity I’d been waiting for, and I wasn’t going to deny her the chance to prove herself and blow them away.
I gave a subtle nod.
“Ten minutes is too late,” she began, her voice steady and controlled. “You’re assuming the exchange happens inside the warehouse. And that’s the problem.”
Adrik, intrigued by her construction, straightened his back and folded his arms across his chest.
“They say if you wanna catch a thief, think like a thief,” she continued. “These guys are liars, and if you don’t think like them, they’ll outsmart you.”
We looked at each, but none of us said a word.
She added, “If I were setting a trap, I’d never finish the deal where I planned to kill someone.”
Ilya cleared his throat, fingers scratching the back of his head. “Um…Mrs. Tarasov, do you mind explaining to us what you mean? Imagine you’re speaking to three-year-olds.”
Adrik and I glared at him for that statement, but he just casually shrugged his shoulders. He was right anyway because none of us understood what she was trying to say.
She closed the book, set it aside, and struggled to her feet, a hand supporting her lower back. She dragged herself over to the table and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“All right, pay attention,” she began, shifting her finger along the map. “The delay gives your enemies time—enough tomove the real handoff closer to the river. Out of sight, easy escape routes, reflective surfaces to spot approaching men.” She glanced up at our faces. “You’ll storm the empty warehouse while they watch from across the water.”
The silence was even heavier than before.
“It’s an ambush,” Ilya murmured under his breath.
“Exactly,” she seconded. “Your plan is solid, but it’s flawed. And if you pull through with it, you won’t just miss them; you’ll expose yourselves.”
The two men stared at her in awe, unable to spot an error in her analysis.
“Well….” Adrik’s quiet voice broke the silence. “Thank you for making me feel stupid.”
Her lips curled into a small, teasing smile. “You’re welcome.”
I stood there, beaming with pride, even though I didn’t commend her in front of the two men.
“Now what?” Ilya asked.
“Now we adjust our plan,” I answered.
And just like that, all eyes shifted toward Eva.
“Got any brilliant ideas?” Adrik asked her.
She hesitated for a moment. “Yes. Yes, I do.”
Eva spent the next few minutes restrategizing our plan, her hands moving in sync with her wise words. As she spoke, the world around us faded into the background, leaving only her and the sweet sound of her voice.
The two men were stunned by her contributions, and throughout the brief time she spoke, their eyebrows remained raised. They couldn’t believe their eyes, and when they glanced at me, I just beamed with pride.
Now that they’d witnessed her wisdom firsthand, it was only a matter of time before they brought up the idea of bringing her into the fold.
