“Yes, sir,” Johnson said.
Evgeny gave a nod.
“First, let us discuss the weapons transferred during the hijacking,” Mr. Craig said, turning to Evgeny. “Did your client find them suitable?”
“Yes, they were pleased,” Evgeny said.
Mr. Craig turned to Johnson. “I would like you to maintain a thorough surveillance of them. It does make me slightly nervous that the LTL would want so much firepower. They have become more radicalized in recent years, and the last thing we need is Luddite terrorists creating too much havoc. A small amount is good for business, but too much gets the public in a panic.”
“Yes, sir. My sources indicate that they are planning something large scale, but I believe we will be able to steer them in the right direction,” Johnson said.
“Excellent. We need to make sure they hit our competitors and not us.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Now, about the other items in the hijacking.”
Evgeny shifted in his seat.
Mr. Craig continued. “There is still the issue of the items Mr. Li diverted in route back to us. The agreement was that the SRS would be given five percent of the technology for distribution as payment for the hijacking, as well as a percentage of the income from selling the code at street level. We have held up our end of the bargain, and by diverting those goods, the SRS has not.” He set his drink on the desk and stared at Evgeny.
Evgeny waited, seemingly unsure if Mr. Craig was finished. Johnson did not trust the Russian, and he found mild pleasure in seeing him squirm.
Finally, Evgeny said, “Yes, as you have said, Mr. Li diverted the goods. We are still tracking them down. I have discovered that Mr. Li was more loyal to his Triad than to the SRS. He had been diverting credits and resources from the SRS for some time.”
“Perhaps I should have Johnson look into it for you. As I have said, he is quite good at what he does,” Mr. Craig offered.
Johnson enjoyed that.
“I believe we are close,” Evgeny said.
Mr. Craig nodded. “You can see my concern. There is the possibility Mr. Li had already gotten the items out of the country before his demise. That would not do.”
“No,” Evgeny said in agreement.
“Mr. Tal, what you must understand is this, you are allowed to operate in this city, in this country, because of us. If we wanted to shut you down, we could do so in a very short time. We allow you to survive because it benefits us. If your continued existence no longer benefits us or hinders us, you will no longer continue to exist. Mr. Li discovered that. Do you think the mishap on the parking garage was just a case of a trigger happy goon? It is no accident that Mr. Li was a fatality. We have had men in your organization for some time. It was unfortunate others were hurt in that incident, but a point had to be made.”
Mr. Craig paused, allowing Evgeny the time to absorb this new information. Johnson took a drink, keeping an eye on the Russian. He looked a shade paler than he had a moment before.
“That being said, I look forward to your report on the missing technology,” Mr. Craig continued. “You can give your glass to the secretary on the way out.”
Evgeny stood, making sure to take his glass. “Yes, sir,” he said and turned to go.
With Evgeny out of the room, Mr. Craig said, “About our other project.”
“Yes, sir. I met with Mr. Quince yesterday, and he and his team are generating a new plan.”
“And our timetable?”
“Everything is still within the parameters.”
“Excellent. I look forward to hearing more.”
Johnson pushed his chair back to go.
“One more thing, Johnson.”
“Sir?”
“I would like an honest assessment. Do you think we can trust the Russian?”
“For a time.”
“You will be sure to inform me when his time is up?”
“Of course, sir.”
Chapter 40
Jacob knew there was little chance Slade would help them. He didn’t want to help when Gomez was alive, and Jacob doubted he had a change of heart after Gomez’s death, but he had to try. Having a man in security on the inside increased the chances of any plan working, so he hacked Gomez’s phone to get Slade’s contact information. Slade surprised him and agreed to meet without much of an argument.
Kat insisted she come along. She thought she might be able to pull some weight with Slade since they were in Berlin together. Maybe she could give him a “do it for Gomez” line. Jacob agreed. Besides, he got the feeling Slade didn’t like him when they met before, and Kat’s presence might act as a buffer for that dislike.
Slade wanted to meet in a place more public than DeSoto’s during off-hours, so they met at Commie Cup. Jacob was fine with that. A public meeting would keep everything civil, and Commie Cup was secure from surveillance.
Slade was waiting for them when they got there. The scowl that came across his face when they walked in said all that Jacob needed to know. He almost told Kat to forget about it, but before he could get the words out, she sat down next to Slade.
“It’s been a while,” she said.
“It has. I’m sorry to hear about Gomez. He was a good man and a damn good soldier. I always knew he had my back.”
“He was, and he did,” Kat said.
“So,” Slade said, “why did you want to talk to me?”
“We wanted to know if you were still in with us on the job we talked about,” Jacob said.
Slade shook his head. “I was doing that as a favor to Gomez. I owed him. I don’t owe you. Either one of you. I know you were in Berlin Kat, but let’s face it, we were never tight, and you weren’t in the field with us. I do appreciate the move of you coming here. I guess I would have tried the same thing.”
“Then why did you come if you have no intention of
