Jeremy raised an eyebrow, and his jawdropped. I believe I shared the same reaction. “Sir,” Jeremy said.“I don’t mean to challenge you, but there is no way one car couldbe worth risking bringing down the entire Russian mafia.”
“I am your director, and I am telling youthat it is worth it.” He spoke in a clipped, irritated voice.Somewhere on the edges, I thought I recognized a bit of achallenge.
Jeremy’s jaw tightened, and I knew he wasdoing everything to stay calm. “Surely, Director Skriloff, weshould be working with the FBI to make sure we aren’t jeopardizingthe undercover agent’s life or his operation—
“Let the FBI worry about the FBI. And onthat note, you were given strict instructions not to shareinformation between agencies, and yet you defied that order.”
“Sir, I—”
“I don’t want to hear any excuses,” Skriloffbarked. “Your actions will be noted in your record. I suggest youfollow orders with more integrity in the future if you want to stayin the field.”
Jeremy’s face flamed red. I knew DirectorSkriloff’s attack on his integrity must hurt.
“Director,” I said carefully. “It was myidea to go to the FBI agent—and we did learn some valuableinformation from him that we wouldn’t have been able to getotherwise. And honestly, sir, after what we learned I don’t thinkwe can in good conscience continue this mission.”
Director Skriloff turned to glare at me.“Who authorized you to speak? A second-year agent, and you thinkyou have any right to lecture me on what missions we can or cannotcontinue? I am your director. I am privy to information thatyou—for very good reasons—are not. It is not your place to questionthe ethics of the mission. It is your place to trust yoursuperiors and follow orders.” Anger boiled just beneath his words,and his face turned red as he delivered his diatribe.
“Your mission remains the same. Retrieve thecar by any means necessary before it is shipped off, never to befound again.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I expect you to useyour training to infiltrate the mafia and uncover the location ofthe vehicle. Once you have the location, you are to retrieve thecar and bring it here. Do you have any questions?”
“Is there something you aren’t telling us?”I blurted.
Director Skriloff’s eyes bugged out inbarely contained rage. “Of course there’s something I’m not tellingyou. I’ve told you exactly what you need to know to do yourjob and nothing more. Now go do it.” He turned away for amoment and when he turned back, his face was a mask of calm. “I amanxious to receive your report that you have located thevehicle.”
***
Jeremy and I didn’t speak on the way homefrom headquarters. For my part, my mind was spinning witheverything we’d learned, and I didn’t trust anything coherent tocome out of my mouth.
For better or for worse, we were back on thecase. Only now there was an extra element of danger. I had to finda way to retrieve this mysteriously important car withoutendangering myself, Agent Kozlov, or the FBI’s efforts to bringdown the bratva. The pressure made it a little difficult tobreathe, and more than a little difficult to sleep that night.
Chapter 18
I got to the school five minutes before Mr.Shareweather. Without a word, he opened the back shop door and letme inside. Watching him up close like I now was, I couldn’t helpbut notice how he had the look of a Russian—the prominent, roundcheekbones, gray-blue eyes, thin lips, and a strong jawline. Couldhe be of Russian ancestry and was trying to hide it with theridiculous name of Shareweather?
He unlocked some cupboards and pulled outtwo small tablets, handing me one. “I understand you’re quiteproficient in stealing cars without high-tech security systems.”His voice was flat, devoid of humor.
“I guess so.”
“Either you are or you aren’t. This is notime for being modest.”
I nodded. “Then, yes.”
“I am, by some miracle, supposed to make youproficient with these high-tech systems in one and a half hours.You appear to be someone with some intelligence.”
“Yes.” I did not look away.
“Then, we work.”
He was forceful and impatient throughout hisinstruction. Luckily, I had watched several videos provided to meby Division about the process, and there were only a fewdifferences between what I’d already learned and what Shareweatherwas demonstrating—it seemed the Russians had found a slightlyfaster way to get in with the program they had. The tablet also hada jammer function that prevented GPS from locating the car oncethey’d stolen it. The process was slick, actually. By the timeschool started, I had my time down to four minutes.
“I am rarely surprised by the kids Viktorsends me.” S-Dub’s voice was flat and gruff. He left it like that,just short of a compliment. I chose to take it as one. Inside,however, I wanted to spend more time on it so that I could getcloser to Mikado and Jericho’s time of three minutes. Then again,there were two of them. Maybe paired with someone skilled, I’d beat three minutes, too. But did they plan to pair me withanyone?
Viktor was standing just outside the shop asI exited it. He leaned in and took my hand. “How’d it go?”
“Excellent, I think, but S-Dub is prettyshort on compliments.” I frowned.
“Ah, S-Dub has had a rough life. He expectsa lot of his protégés. You’ll learn to appreciate him over time.” Icouldn’t help but notice how perfectly Viktor’s short beard,mustache and eyebrows were trimmed. He took great care ofhimself.
“Do you hire someone to keep you lookinglike a GQ model, or do you do it yourself?”
He pushed a quick puff of air out his noseand stroked his chin. “This is all me, baby. All me.”
I tilted my head and gave him a look thatsaid, tell me another one.
“Okay, okay. I might have someone help meout a couple times a week.”
I chuckled. “I thought so.” I didn’t want tocompliment him, but it seemed like the right thing to do. “They doa great job.” I nodded several times.
He pressed his lips together and raised hischin. “Thanks. I want to look perfect for you.”
I knew the truth of the matter was that hewanted to look
