They all look up when we enter.
Kirill’s palm stays on my back as we cross to the table. “Let’s get started.”
Elio’s the first to speak, his tone dripping skepticism. “So this is the former waitress who’s going to save us all.”
Kirill goes rigid, every line of him shifting into a lethal threat. “Watch your fucking mouth, Valenti.”
I press my hand to his shoulder before he can tear into Elio further.
To be fair, the last time Elio saw me, I was half-naked in a club bathroom after Kirill shot one of his men in the head. Today he’ll see what I’m capable of.
I set my laptop bag on the table and meet his stare. “Former waitress. MTI student. And yeah, I’m going to save you. Try to keep up.”
Marcus laughs. “Damn. I like her already.”
Vincent looks unimpressed. “Your husband makes bold claims about your capabilities. We’re here to see if you can deliver.”
I flip open my laptop, turning it so everyone can view the screen. “You agreed to help trap the Ghost. Here’s how we make sure they can’t do to us what they did at the pier.”
I pull up the packet analysis from the pier disaster and explain what went wrong.
“The Ghost had access to your communications before you arrived. See this timestamp? Their exploit went live the day before the operation. You walked into a trap.”
Gigi studies the screen. “Where’s this data from?”
“Dem’s people recovered three intact comm units. I ran the analysis.”
She scrolls through my findings. “So they pre-positioned the exploit. That explains how they hijacked the channel so fast.”
“Exactly.” I switch screens. “Which is why we’re not making the same mistake. Here’s the solution. Two separate communication systems.”
Yuki sets her phone down, attention sharpening. “In plain English please.”
“Basically, I set up an encrypted comms system the Ghost doesn’t know about—that’s what we use to communicate. But I’ll also build a fake system, that will look like a highly secure radio channel, but I’m leaving one small, intentional vulnerability in the encryption. The Ghost will find it and think they’ve outsmarted us.”
Kirill watches me from across the table, fierce satisfaction in his expression making heat crawl up my neck.
Marcus frowns. “Why would we want that?”
“Because this time, we control what they hear.” I pull up the honeypot design. “We’ll make them believe the DEA is about toraid the Baronov warehouse in Red Hook, and that fifty million in heroin needs to be moved within twenty-four hours.”
Vincent leans forward. “What’s the point?”
“We move the dope to Newtown Creek where the Valenti’s have a warehouse. They’ll follow us and strike, and when they do we ambush them with five hundred soldiers from every family here.”
Gigi nods, following along “You’re weaponizing their surveillance tactics.”
“Exactly.”
Kirill crosses his arms. “When the Ghost comes for us, we need enough manpower to end this once and for all.”
Marcus drums his fingers against the table. “So we show up and kill the motherfuckers? I can do that.”
Yuki tilts her head. “What’s the contingency if they don’t bite?”
“They will. They’ve hit every major shipment for months. They won’t pass up fifty million in product.”
Vincent stands. “Forty-eight hours to pull this off. Can you do it?”
