Epilogue
Dimitri
The sedan snakes down the driveway, glossy and silent, until the gates shut behind the wheels. I watch on the monitor, reclining in a leather chair that squawks beneath me.
Right on cue. As expected, Roman sends out his hound.
I touch the screen where the car once was, like my fingertip could stir the trouble I already set in motion.
“I think they figured out the clue.” The room is empty, but I’m not alone in this game.
The desk speaker spits static, the voice on the other end thin as a wire. “Are they on the move?”
“Hunting.” I barely shift, my eyes glued on the monitor as the feed flips over. Vanya’s car, black and low, peels out onto the main road. “Vanya Orlov just left the compound. If I’m right, he’s heading to St. Augustine Rare Books and Manuscripts Library. We’re on to the next play.”
A sharp, keen pause vibrates through the speaker like a fist pressed against a scar.
“It’s not enough. They’re still standing.” Every word hammers the point home.
I keep my eyes on the screens. We haven’t been able to get any cameras inside the compound, but we can watch the front gate and note everyone who comes and goes.
“They can stand for the time being. It’s temporary. The Kozlovs are broken, Kai. Their trust is dust. Next comes the split. That’s when they fall.”
“I want them buried under the rubble.”
An anticipatory smile flickers across my lips as a plan fifteen years in the making comes together. “Patience, Boss. The Kozlov empire wasn’t built in a day. It won’t fall in a day either. But it will fall.”
Even through the distortion, the reply carries a sharp bite. “Not soon enough.”
Satisfaction swells as I switch off the monitor and darkness seeps in like an old friend.
Not much longer now.
The End