I step closer to the wall display, one hand bracing lightly against the edge of the desk as I look at the corridor Polina has highlighted.
“Don’t touch anything central,” I continue. “Choose something he considers stable. Something that runs quietly in the background.”
Polina adjusts the image to a warehouse along the east corridor. Steady traffic, moderate volume, and no overt protection.
I study it for a moment, then nod once.
“That one,” I say. “Forty-eight hours. Restrict the Baltic transfers and wait. I want him watching that when the second disruption hits.”
Mikel nods once. “Disable. Don’t destroy.”
“Correct.”
Polina’s voice cuts back in. “Baltic accounts flagged. First restriction is active.”
Somewhere inside Arkady’s network, an alert will appear, not as an attack but as a limitation.
I move toward the window and rest my hand briefly against the glass. Outside, the lawn sits quiet under the sweep of security lights, nothing disturbed.
Arkady doesn’t delay without purpose. If Rowan were meant to disappear, it would’ve been done already. He’s keeping her. That means she’s useful.
“You think Arkady isn’t telling Ivan everything,” Mikel says from behind me.
“Yes.”
“Why keep him blind?” Mikel questions.
“Because blind men are easier to sacrifice.”
If Ivan doesn’t see the full board, he’s expendable. That makes him unstable. And unstable men make mistakes.
Polina’s voice cuts in. “Ivan hasn’t returned home. He’s moving between temporary locations.”
I turn slightly back toward the display.
“He’s uncertain,” I say.
Confidence stays still. Doubt moves.
“Maintain surveillance,” I tell her. “Any deviation, I want it immediately.”
“Understood.”
“He’ll respond,” Mikel says.
“He won’t have a choice.”
“And when he does.”
“We’ll see what he protects first.”
Mikel nods once and leaves without another word.
When the door closes, I move to the watch case along the far wall and open it, selecting one without studying the face before fastening it around my wrist.
Arkady moved first. Now I control the pace.
7
