“His meeting should’ve been interrupted after the president requested his presence.”
“I agree, sir. I made that clear to the staffer I spoke with.”
They waited another fifteen minutes before Nick’s admin, Julie, announced the Russian ambassador’s arrival.
“Mr. President, I apologize for the delay,” Sokolov said, his English heavily accented. He was about six feet tall, with salt-and-pepper hair and a regal bearing.
“I’d like to know what’s become of Sergei Ivanov.”
His brows furrowed. “Sir?”
“Please don’t play dumb with me, Ambassador. The Russian opposition leader was murdered, dumped into the street by an SUV with diplomatic plates and taken to the morgue at the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters, which was then bombed. When the dust settled, Ivanov’s body had been removed from the morgue, along with a young woman, who was an innocent bystander.”
“And you are accusing us of these crimes, Mr. President?”
Nick looked him dead in the eyes. “I am.”
“Well,” he huffed, “this is an outrage!”
“Indeed, it is. Unless you’d like your entire delegation promptly expelled from the United States, you’ll return Ivanov’s body to the morgue, release the young woman, arrest the people who carried out the bombing and turn them over to federal authorities. If those things aren’t done by six p.m., your diplomatic mission to the United States will be over so fast, your head will spin and this terrorist attack will be treated as an act of war. Am I clear?”
Sokolov attempted to stare him down—and failed. He stormed out of the office, slamming the door on the way.
“That went well,” Nick said to Terry.
He chuckled. “For you, maybe. Will you kick them out?”
“Hell yes, I will. They bombed my wife’s workplace.”
“And you’re sure it’s them?”
“Who else would have the motive or means to set off a bomb to steal the body of their fiercest critic?”
“So you think they’ve got bombs at the ready over at the embassy?”
“Would you put it past them?”
“No, sir.”
“They’ll see to my instructions, which will confirm my suspicions about who was behind the bombing.”
“Then what?”
“We’ll have a conversation with President Petrov about his delegation’s behavior and our expectations for him to get them under control.”
“And what will you say when he mentions how your vice president was in cahoots with Ivanov?”
“I’ll say that she’s been appropriately dealt with, is no longer a representative of my government and her behavior is being thoroughly investigated by law enforcement. Though I’m not in any way advocating for regime change, I fully support Ivanov’s efforts to bring fair and democratic elections to Russia.”
“He won’t like that.”
“Tough shit. I don’t like fascists who murder people simply because they don’t agree with him or invade sovereign nations in a massive land grab. I don’t like that at all, and he already knows that.”
“Your support for Ukraine and its people says it all.”
“Keep me posted on their compliance.”
“I will, sir. We’re ready for you in the briefing room.”
