Chapter 22 - Kliment #2
Heavy silence followed the revelation as all of us realized time was ticking. Everyone in that room understood exactly what that meant. Misha was not just being held. She was being positioned to eventually be sold, and she would be the Volkovs’ most prized asset.
***
“No,” Jarek said flatly. “We have to hit every location tied to this network, and we tear it apart piece by piece.”
“And lose Misha in the process?” Avgust shot back. “If she’s moved during the chaos, we will never be able to find her.”
“We hit one wrong location, and the first thing they will do is transport Misha somewhere else. She is their most prized possession right now; let’s not forget that,” Nico cut in, his tone sharper than usual.
“It is still better than sitting here—”
“Enough.” My voice wasn’t raised, but it didn’t need to be. The room fell silent immediately, and I let the tension settle for exactly one second before speaking again.
“This is not the time to fight and fragment,” I said. “We need to focus and plan ahead.”
All eyes were on me now.
“This auction,” I continued, “is the center of everything right now. It is not on the edges or the intermediaries but the center for all of us.
Iosif studied me carefully. “And you’re certain Volkov and Sidorov will be there?”
I met his gaze. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because men like him don’t delegate power,” I said. “They display it. These auctions are his biggest prize. He will be there, and so will Sidorov. Trust me.”
Timofey leaned back slightly, a dangerous grin forming. “So I guess that only leaves us one option. We crash the party.”
“Not crash,” I corrected. I straightened, my focus absolute now. “We dismantle it.”
***
The plan formed fast. It had to. Since time was not a luxury we had, it was important to rush through the process now.
However, with everyone focused on this one thing alone, nothing felt impossible.
Every single person was only focused on getting Misha back, and that was enough to reassure me that we would get her back. We had to.
“Okay, give me a list of all the possible locations?” I asked.
Viktor tapped his screen, pulling up a map of the city.
“We have narrowed all possible sites down to three,” he said. “They are all private estates under either Volkov or Sidorov with high security and limited access roads.”
“I think we should cross-reference each with historical usage,” Nico added. “Look for properties previously tied to high-level gatherings so we can easily narrow it down to one.”
Within seconds, new data populated the screen, and one location stood out immediately. It was much older and larger than the other two, but more importantly, it was also isolated.
“Given the evidence, this has to be the one,” Avgust said, scrolling through the details.
“I am not sure. This is too obvious. Why would they risk it?” Jarek asked
“Because right now they are on a winning streak, which gives them a high, and in situations like these, men tend to make mistakes. They are overconfident, and they will choose this.”
Avgust nodded slowly. “Volkov wouldn’t hide exactly. He would still fortify, but he would still do it out in the open.”
“Exactly.”
Iosif’s gaze moved to me. “You’ve seen operations like this before.”
“Yes.”
“Then you know what we’re walking into.”
I held his gaze. “Yes.”
***
The next three days blurred into motion, and sleep became irrelevant.
Time started to get measured in intel, movement, and preparation.
Old contacts resurfaced faster than expected, and men who had once stood at my side stepped back into place without question.
Safe houses multiplied, and weapons were sourced.
Vehicles rotated through untraceable channels, and it almost felt as if Saint Petersburg remembered me.
And it responded.
By the second night, surveillance nets had expanded beyond official systems. Underworld whispers began to align. And then we finally heard it. Plain and simple. A private, exclusive auction was scheduled to happen. The room went still as the information was relayed.
“Is it finally confirmed?” I asked.
“Not officially,” Viktor replied. “But multiple sources are aligning.”
“And the buyers?” Nico asked.
“All high tier,” Sera said. “Most of them are either international or political and mostly untouchable.”
My jaw tightened. “No one is untouchable. Do we have names?”
“Still compiling,” Viktor replied.
“Move faster.”
***
It came on the fourth day. It wasn’t loud or dramatic, but instead it came through just a single line of intercepted communication flagged by Alina, who had been tracing every possible piece of information she could find anywhere on the internet.
“Kliment,” she said, her voice tight. “You need to see this.”
I crossed the room in two strides, and she pulled it up on the main screen.
It was an encrypted message that had been partially decoded already.
It showed a buyer confirmation, but the location was redacted; however, the timings were confirmed.
My blood pressure spiked as I read through the asset description, but I didn’t need to read the rest to know exactly what it was.
My body went completely still because this was the first real sign that Misha was actually here. Actually alive.
“She’s here,” Sera whispered.
The room fell into silence, and Iosif exhaled slowly.
Avgust’s hands curled into fists, and Timofey looked like he was about to tear something apart.
None of us moved, and I didn’t look at any of them.
I couldn’t. I continued to stare at the screen, which gave us the confirmation.
The single, undeniable truth. Misha was in this city, which meant she was alive and waiting.
Something inside me shifted and transformed. I straightened slowly, my voice when I spoke quieter than it had any right to be.
“Lock it in.”
Viktor nodded immediately. “Yes.”
“Every route,” I continued. “Every access point. Every security layer.”
“It’s already in motion.”
I turned, my gaze sweeping across the room. “Volkov is going to die.”
Everyone already knew I was not kidding. I was here to get Misha back, and I was not going to return without her, and whoever came in my path was going to burn.