“No, just this open space. It’s about three thousand square feet.”
“That should be easy to cover.” Zoe nodded in agreement.
“The inside space is barren, so it would be difficult to post people inside, therefore we’ll have to concentrate our efforts on the outside. A few men will be stationed around along the north and east sides, and someone will be watching the main road,” Luke said taking over.
“What’s this?” Zoe pointed at a structure adjacent to the building.
“That’s another empty building. We’ll have someone posted on the roof to be lookout.”
“My team can help cover near the entrance of that building and the rear of the one we are meeting at. Do we know how many men we’ll be up against?”
“I spoke to my contact. They said close to thirty men. That’s not including how many Diego might be bringing in.”
“With this small of a space, we’ll have to tell them only a small contingency. Two or three men each.”
“Agreed. With fewer guards, we should be able to cover everyone,” Luke added.
“I’ll tell Viktor in the morning and give these plans to my boss.”
Luke rolled up the map and handed it to Zoe. “Thank you for doing this, Zoe. We know it’s not always easy working with other organizations. Everyone wants to do things their own way.”
“As long as the bad guys are caught at the end of the day, I’m happy. I’ve already told Greg, but I informed my boss that I’m working with insiders of Maxim’s security team willing to flip, so no one will be the wiser we are collaborating. He’s not thrilled you wanted to stay anonymous, but he agreed.”
“Our boss wasn’t any happier when he learned we were teaming up, but he agreed that as long as we can keep our involvement silent, he’ll support it.”
“Thank you.”
Luke nodded and gave her a half smile. “We’ll leave you now.” He turned and looked at Greg. “I’m going to inform the rest of the team.” With that, both men departed, leaving Greg and Zoe alone.
“Greg, I want your word, no harm will come to Aleksei. He’s not like the rest of them.”
Greg knew she liked the kid like a little brother, but the kid was still a criminal. “Zoe, I know you’re close to the kid.”
“I mean it, Greg.” She lifted a warning finger into his face. From the look in her eyes, Greg could tell this was not something she was willing to cave on. “No harm. His brother got him into this life, but he wants nothing to do with it. He’s just a kid.”
“Who’s part of a drug trade,” he tried reasoning.
“He was a driver only until you came along and now he’s a guard in the house. He just wants to be a normal guy. Go to college and meet men. Boris forced him into this life, but his heart isn’t in it.”
Greg was torn. He liked the kid too. He’d seen the special bond he and Zoe had when he’d watched them at the club. They were more like siblings. Greg didn’t want to have to kill Aleksei. “Do what you can to keep him away from the meet spot. I’ll pass along the orders not to kill.”
Zoe’s whole body seemed to droop like she’d been holding the weight of the world on her shoulders and it was finally gone. “Thank you.”
“But, Zoe, if he tries to kill one of us, we’re not going to have a choice but to fire back. It may not be shoot to kill, but he will be put down. I won’t have him risking my teammates.”
“I understand, you don’t have to worry on that score. Aleksei couldn’t hurt a fly.”
Greg didn’t share her sentiment. People did all sorts of things when they were frightened, or in a fight, or it was a do or die situation.
What they were walking into, many weren’t coming out of. Greg had seen Aleksei in a fight—it was true he wasn’t a fighter—but when the bullets started flying and his brother was dead, they could see a whole other Aleksei.
“I should be heading back.”
“Will I see you tomorrow?” He wasn’t ready for her to leave yet.
“There aren’t any runs, but I need to get the information to me boss. I can come up with an excuse for shopping. Maxim won’t question it.”
They both knew this would be the last time they saw each other, at least for a while. They came together for one last kiss.
