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“Alex,” Adrian says “My apologies for the hour, but I know you’re an early riser, and I figured you’d want to hear this without delay”
I tighten rip on the phone “Tell me you found Mukha”
“I did It wasn’t easy, but my hacker finally discovered a loophole in Mukha’s cyber tracks We planted a bug in the electronic currency I sent hiybacked on the currency all the way to the Cayman Islands and back to Russia It turns out he pays for hishome in Moscow I paid her a visit”
“Spare me the details,” I say with impatience “Where is the son of a bitch?”
“He’s renting a house on the outskirts of Moscow I’m on my way there now”
I sit up straighter, anticipation tightening ut “Pay him any price he wants for that file, and if he’s still not willing to sell, get the information any way you have to” I put emphasis on the next words “At any cost”
“Understood I’ll get back to you tonight”
The line goes dead
Finally It’s about tihtfall, I’ll know the reason Stefanov wants me dead
22
Residence of Vladi
Vladie tonight Alex Volkov knows he’s behind the assassination atte Vadim’s head soak in a toilet bowl full of shit That’s why Volkov is having his house surveilled The only reason Volkov hasn’t struck yet is because he doesn’t knohy Vladimir tried to put a bullet in his brain The only people in the world who do know that are Oleg and Vladimir himself
Oleg is the weak link Why else did he run like a dog with his tail between his legs to hide with his fa Vladimir is that this mess will soon be over Before the clock strikes twelve, oneof the past At last, he’ll be able to seal that closet full of skeletons and let it sink to the botto there
As it turns out, Oleg Pavlov arrived a short hour ago at the airport and should be ringing his doorbell just about—
Ding dong
Now
Inwardly, Vladimir smiles
For security reasons, his study is soundproof, but he’s left the door open so that he can follow the sound of the footsteps as they advance
Oleg’s voice bounces off the arched ceiling of Vladimir’s stately home “How’s the family?”
“Good, thank you,” Vladimir’s wife, Galina, says “How about Annika and the children?”