"It's a good way to destroy evidence. They might have gotten lucky and killed us, too."
"I didn't see a car. Maybe the bomb was on a timer."
"Probably, or they would have set it off before we could get out of the house." She glanced over at him and saw him wince as he shifted positions. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I fell on my shoulder."
"Sorry. I have to say I'm getting damn tired of being thrown into the air and landing hard on the ground, not to mention my ears are still ringing."
"I feel the same way."
She drew a breath and let it out, thinking about David's last words. "David really loved his wife and child."
"Doesn't excuse what he did."
"I know. He wanted to hurt other people in exactly the same way his family was killed, and the way he ended up being killed. It's a terribly sad irony."
"I'm more concerned with what's coming next," Max said. "David mentioned Costa was his first lead. Costa is dead, so he can't help us. Alex Novik was the one who got David onto the site where he connected with Caleb. We need to find him."
"He hasn't been at the club in days."
"Where does he live?"
"Midtown. We alerted the team there to notify us when he came back to his apartment, but that hasn't happened."
"Maybe he's dead, too," Max said grimly.
"I hope not." She paused as her phone buzzed. "This is Tyler." She punched a button and said, "Hello?"
"Just heard what happened," Tyler said. "How are you and Malone?"
"We're fine. What's up?"
"I think Alex Novik may be at the Bayside Marina. His ex-girlfriend has a boat called the Isabelle. I'd go there myself, but I'm in Newark. If you're closer…"
"We are. We can check it out. What are you doing in Newark?"
"I had a meeting with a guy who worked on Sergei Novik's security team a few years back. He told me Sergei is clean, that his brother is the bad seed, as Sergei put it. He only invested in the Crimson Club to get his brother into a more legitimate business, although it hasn't turned out that way. My friend got in touch with Sergei and told him that Alex was in trouble and it would be better if the FBI found him before anyone else. He suggested we check the boat."
"We're on our way," she said as Max typed the marina into the navigation screen. "We should be there in about thirty minutes. Good work, Tyler."
"Let me know what happens."
She ended the call and glanced at Max. "I hope Alex Novik is still alive. It would be nice to get some good luck for a change."
"I agree."
"So, Tyler was helpful," she added.
"Yeah, we'll see."
"You're great at holding a grudge, aren't you?"
"I have a long memory," he admitted. "But I'm willing to give Tyler the benefit of the doubt. As you pointed out earlier, I really don't know what happened back in the day. And it also doesn't matter anymore, although it involves some of the same people."
"I would imagine that there are hundreds, maybe thousands of people whose lives have been irrevocably changed by Ali Qadir. You're not the only one, Max."
"I never thought I was. But most people don't have the power to stop him. If I can find him, I will stop him."
