Mikel nods. “Risk assessment. Expansion consulting. Protective infrastructure. All clean and justifiable.”
“That answers everything,” I reply.
Ivan Malenko isn’t seeking confrontation. He’s seeking access.
The car pulls into the underground garage beneath Sovarin Biomedical headquarters. The company exists because I built it to endure beyond criminal necessity. It’s the shield I move behind when the Bratva threatens to consume itself.
We step inside and ride the private elevator upward. The ascent is smooth and silent, the doors opening directly into my officesuite. The space is orderly, designed to communicate authority without indulgence.
I shrug out of my coat and move toward the windows, looking out over the city below. Charlotte stretches in neat grids, unaware of the currents moving beneath its surface.
“I want Ivan invited,” I state.
Mikel remains still, his attention sharpening. “Directly?”
“No,” I answer. “Professionally.”
I turn to face him fully. “We frame it as a consultation. Corporate risk. External threat mitigation. Expansion security.”
“That will appeal to him,” Mikel agrees. “And refusal would raise questions.”
“Precisely.”
I move to my desk and activate the tablet, pulling up a blank message draft addressed to my assistant.
Request availability.
Exploratory consultation.
Sovarin Biomedical expansion considerations.
Discretion expected.
Nothing that implies suspicion or suggests a trap.
“If Ivan knows Arkady,” I continue, “he’ll recognize the name before I speak it.”
“And if he doesn’t,” Mikel adds, “that will also answer you.”
“Yes.”
The truth rarely announces itself. It shows itself in who stands near and how they respond. I’ve learned that waiting often exposes more than force ever could.
I send the message and set the tablet aside.
“Until then,” I tell Mikel, “we’ll observe.”
“Understood.”
He moves toward the door, pausing briefly before leaving. “Rowan Hale.”
I meet his eyes. “Yes.”
“She complicates the timing,” he replies, then adds, quieter, “and she shouldn’t be anywhere near this.”
“She clarifies it,” I answer.
Mikel holds my gaze for a beat longer, the hesitation unmistakable, then inclines his head once and leaves without further comment.
