“When?”
“I land in six hours. Boris will brief you on the warehouse layout before I arrive. We’ll move as soon as my brother gives the okay. As far as my cousin… How is she?”
I glance at the closed bedroom door. Through the thin wood, I can hear Daria’s slow, even breathing. She’s finally getting rest, probably the first real sleep she’s had in days.
“Holding together,” I reply. “She’s stronger than she thinks.”
“Good. Keep her that way. And keep her inside until this is done. No unnecessary exposure.”
“She won’t like that.”
“She doesn’t have to like it. She just has to stay alive long enough for us to remove the threat.” A brief silence. “Dmitri wants to talk to you. I’m transferring the call.”
The line clicks, and Dmitri’s voice replaces his brother’s. His is calmer and more measured. It’s the voice of a man who’s learned to think three moves ahead.
“Good work identifying the location,” he praises.
“Credit goes to Alexei’s interrogators,” I say.
“Credit goes to everyone who contributed. Including you.” Papers shuffle on his end. “I’ve reviewed Tony’s financial reports. The evidence against Bogdan is comprehensive. Money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy against Kozlov interests. Enough to justify any action we take. But there’s a step we need to complete first. Yevgeny Lebedev.”
Yevgeny is old school. Powerful. The kind of pakhan who built his empire through patience and knowing when to make alliances instead of enemies. He’s also Bogdan’s uncle, which makes this infinitely more complicated.
“You want to warn him,” I say.
“If we eliminate his nephew without an explanation, we risk turning a neutral party into an enemy.”
“What if Yevgeny tips off Bogdan?”
“He won’t.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yevgeny values his empire more than his nephew’s life. Bogdan has been operating without authorization, building a network that threatens the balance Yevgeny spent years creating. When Yevgeny sees the evidence, he’ll understand that we’re doing him a favor.”
“When do you send the evidence?”
“Tomorrow morning. Early enough to give him time to process before we move, but late enough that Bogdan won’t have time to run if the information leaks.”
“That’s a narrow window.”
“Narrow windows are what we work with.” A chair creaks. Dmitri is probably in his study, the same room where he gave me this assignment three weeks ago. “Boris will coordinate the tactical approach. You focus on keeping Daria safe and contained until we’re ready.”
“Contained?”
“She’ll want to be involved. Don’t let her.”
I think about Daria’s face when she said she was done being afraid. There was steel in her voice when she agreed that we end this. She won’t want to sit quietly while other people fight her battles.
“I’ll do my best,” I say.
“Do better than your best. She’s been through enough. The last thing she needs is to witness what happens when it all goes down.”
I know he’s right, but I’m pretty sure that Daria won’t see it that way.
“Understood,” I say anyway.
“Good. Get some rest. It’s going to be a long couple of days.”
