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“Grigoriy Belyaev,” Luka informs us.
Beside me, Natalya’s ears perk up. “Oh!”
“Do you know him?” I ask.
“Yes, but not in an official capacity. I’ve met him maybe once or twice. He was with Edvard the day they showed up at my…” She takes a deep breath. “They both showed up at my father’s funeral. That’s how Edvard introduced himself to me. I’m pretty sure Belyaev is his second-in-command.”
Mikhail snorts. “Idiots. Why didn’t they use a stolen vehicle?”
“Maybe they didn’t think they’d get caught?” Natalya wonders aloud. “I mean, theywereplanning on killing us both that morning with the car bomb. I bet they didn’t think that far ahead.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I say quickly. “Their mistakes are our gain. If we can find Belyaev, then he might be able to lead us directly to Levitsky.”
“He isn’t going to expose Levitsky willingly,” Mikhail points out.
“Then we’ll extract the information from him.”
Natalya shifts uncomfortably. “That sounds…”
“Brutal, but necessary, I know. But Simon’s life is on the line. I’ll do whatever I have to.”
Mikhail nods. “This is what we’re going to do. It needs to be carried out perfectly. One wrong move, one little slip up and it’s game over.”
I hold my breath. “What’s the game plan?”
“Luka, find an address attached to Belyaev’s license plate. We’ll retrieve him and secure him in The Pit. From there, we’ll convince him to give up Levitsky’s location.”
“But won’t Edvard realize something’s wrong once he loses contact with his number two?” Natalya points out.
“She has a point,” I add. “Not to mention we’re running out of time. Levitsky’s going to call me in a couple of hours.”
“That’s why we have to be fast,” Mikhail says. “You get him on the phone and you convince him we’re ready to give up our territory. Keep him talking. That’s your specialty.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Luka,” Mikhail snaps. “The address?”
“I’ve got it! Forwarding it to you now.”
Mikhail turns to Natalya next. “I have a job for you, too.”
She blinks. “Me?” He leans over and whispers something in her ear. Whatever he says fills her with resolve. “I’ll take care of it,” she promises.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“I’ll be, uh… overseeing the extraction,” she says. “You know, in case Belyaev is a hard nut to crack.”
I frown at my brother. “I don’t want her getting involved. This is dangerous.”
“I want to help, Dimitri,” she says. “Please. I can’t stand by and do nothing.”
I can’t fault her. I know exactly how she feels. And, if I’m being honest with myself, we need all the help we can get. From what I’ve been able to gather, Levitsky’s men are some of the toughest, most heartless men in all of Moscow. We’re going to need all the help we can get.
“Alright,” I say. “Just be careful.”
She kisses the corner of my mouth. “Always.”
* * *
