The command center was quieter than normal when we came in. Doc got up from where he’d been sitting and crossed to us.
“Beacon.”
“Doc.”
“I’m sorry about your grandmother.”
“Thank you.”
“I didn’t know her well, but Polina was a special person. I see her in you.”
“Thank you, Doc.”
After he walked away, Dagger squeezed my shoulder without speaking. Givre kissed my cheek, and Kingston told me he was sorry and that he’d treasure every minute he got to spend with my babushka.
Amaryllis was last. She approached and put her arms around me. She didn’t say anything, and neither did I. As we held each other, I thought about her life and mine. How similar they were, yet different. Few could understand, but we could.
I’d thanked the people who’d spoken to me even though, a minute later, I couldn’t have repeated what any of them had said. I couldn’t handle more. I came here to work. I needed to work.
I turned to Bishop, and without my saying a word, he squared his shoulders and faced those in the room. “Give us the update.”
Dagger brought his tablet over and took the chair beside mine. Bishop sat on my other side.
“The first packet cleared Treasury shortly after zero eight hundred our time. They’ve routed it to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is what we wanted. Frankfurt acknowledged the second packet and openeda formal inquiry file. That’s the one that matters. Once Frankfurt files, the rest of Europe follows.”
“Vaduz.”
“Your asset put the third packet in the deputy regulator’s hand directly. We’ve confirmed your asset is clear and has gone underground.”
“Good.”
“Hellmer got a courtesy notice from the Liechtenstein regulator about ninety minutes ago. Vasiliev has people inside the bank. He knows by now.”
“What happens next?”
“Germany files the freeze request with Liechtenstein. Once it’s in, every Hellmer account is locked.”
“Understood.”
By fifteen hundred, every account associated with Vasiliev was frozen. Every dollar he’d hidden from Moscow was sitting in a bank in accounts he couldn’t touch.
I wrote a line on my notepad and drew a line through it.
The sun wasbehind the ridge by the time Bishop and I walked up the path to the main camp. Julian was coming out the front door as we reached the steps. He had his hat off, and his eyes were red.
“Katarina.”
“Julian.”
“Your grandmother was a fine woman. I always admired her. I’ll miss her.”
“Thank you.”
He put his hat on and went down the path toward his camp.
Inside, the great room was dim and quiet. Anna was at the front window, looking out at the lake.
“Anna.”
