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“Two are waiting at the freight junction. They can’t come closer while the road is under fire.”

Ilya joins the line from one of the armored vehicles.

“I’m seven minutes away with twelve men.”

“Roman?” he asks.

Abramov leans toward the desk microphone. “I sent him toward Lyubertsy with seven men and another armored vehicle. He’ll reach in under ten minutes.”

The right side of the control wall shows the Lyubertsy depot. Some cameras still work. Smoke covers part of the yard, but men in Volkov uniforms are loading rifles and ammunition into two vans.

The commander speaks over the secure radio. “Sokolov here. Four guards are dead, and one is wounded. They opened the weapons cage.”

Then he lowers his voice and looks straight at me. “I heard one of them say Rudenko wants the vans on the southern road before the police close it.”

Maksim looks at me. “Either Rudenko gave the order, or someone wanted that name heard.”

“We treat it as a lead until we have the speaker alive,” I say.

I step closer to the screen. “Where are your other men?”

“Three are with me upstairs. Two are near the south yard.”

“Keep them off the loading floor,” I say. “Don’t try to take the weapons back.”

Sokolov lowers his voice. “They’re in the route office below us too.”

“What are they taking?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “Could be driver books, road plans, customs times, and vehicle lists.”

“Did they touch the cash?”

“No.”

“Freight?”

“They opened some containers, then left them.”

I point to the depot map. “Which exits still work?”

“The north barrier works. The east gate controls are broken. The south road is open.”

“Lower the north barrier and leave the south road open.”

Sokolov pauses. “You want them to get out?”

“I want them on one road. Keep your men upstairs and tell us which vans leave.”

“Understood.”

Kirill turns to the traffic cameras and starts tracking the vans outside Lyubertsy.

I lower myself into the chair at the center station. Vera would send me back to bed if she saw how tightly I’m gripping the table, so I release it before anyone notices.

I look back at the Khimki map.

The west road leads straight to the main gate. There’s another entrance on the east side beside the railway line. The road is narrow, but an armored vehicle can still get through.