“I know very little,but this does not sound possible to me. You have wrong information.”
Ray steepled hisfingers. “That’s what I thought, too, but I was wrong. Thesestones are not cubic zirconia. Even the best gemologists can’t lookat the diamonds and tell the difference between a natural stone andone of Viktor’s that was grown in a lab.”
“I must know more ofthis fake diamond creation, but what is mission? If you want ViktorVolkov killed, I can do this, no problem.”
Ray let out the breathhe’d been holding. “That’s not what we want, Anya. We want toknow how he’s doing it . . . all of it. From the creation of thestones to the mechanism he’s using to get them into inventory.”
“This is what youwant me to do, and this is all? I am not to kill him?”
“Yes, all we want isinformation. You’ll gather it for us, and we’ll take it fromthere. There will be no arrests while you’re undercover. You’llbe long gone before we make any moves on Viktor. It’s that simple.Implant yourself into Viktor’s circle, gain his trust, learn hisprocess, and report back to me. That’s it.”
“Why?”
Ray scowled. “Becauseyou don’t want to go to prison for the rest of your life.”
Anya shook her head.“No. Why is Viktor doing this thing?”
“Oh, thatwhy,” Ray said. “There are only four motivations for criminalbehavior: money, power, revenge, or sex. It’s always one of theseor a combination. We assume it’s for the money, but we can’tfigure out how he’s monetizing the operation. He doesn’t appearto be selling the stones to the dealers. They’re simply showing upin shops.”
“You said I can haveGwynn, yes?”
“Yes, but why is itso important for you to have her with you?”
Anya leaned backagainst the cushions. “Because she is girl’s real best friend.”
Ray stood, dangling hisempty mug by a pinky finger. He reached for Anya’s mug, and shetook the last swallow of tea before holding up the cup for him toreturn to the kitchen. As she added her mug to his, he allowed themboth to slip from his hand. With catlike reflexes, Anya shot bothhands forward, and when the ceramic cups hit her palms, Ray loweredhis handcuffs with blinding speed, clasping a cuff on each of Anya’swrists.
He lifted the cups fromher palms. “I believe that makes me the winner of our bet.Goodnight, Anya.”
4
VOSSOYEDINENIYE
(REUNION)
The next morning,Anya stretched and slid her legs from beneath the cover. The digitalclock on the bedside table read 8:24. She rubbed the sleep from hereyes and enjoyed the first good shower in over a week. As she steppedfrom the shower and pulled a towel around her shoulders, she saw aT-shirt, sweatshirt, underclothes, socks, and jeans lying on thecounter beside the sink. She towel-dried her hair and pulled it intoa ponytail. The clothes fit perfectly, and she smiled, knowing why.
As always, she rolledthe towels and headed down the stairs, excited about the reunion tocome. Special Agent Guinevere Davis met her at the bottom of thestairs, and the two shared a long hug.
Gwynn eyed her outfit.“Good, they fit. I heard all you had to wear was a set of stolenscrubs and a pair of clown shoes.”
Anya performed apirouette. “Yes, they fit perfectly. Thank you. When I saw them inbathroom, I knew they were from you. Is nice to see you again.”
She reached out andtook Gwynn’s hands in hers. “I did not have chance to thank youfor what you did for me. I would not be alive if it were not for you.I will never forget this.”
Gwynn pulled Anya intoanother hug. “You never have to thank me. I know you would’vedone the same for me.”
“Of course I would.We are partners.”
“Good morning,Sleeping Beauty,” Ray said as he turned the corner from thekitchen. “I thought you were going to sleep the day away.”
Anya groaned. “Isyour fault. You did not give to me key for handcuffs. I spentprecious time picking locks while I should have been sleeping.”
Gwynn glanced down atAnya’s wrists. “Handcuffs? Why were you in cuffs?” She spun toface her boss. “Why was she in handcuffs?”
Ray nodded toward thedining room. “Come on. Let’s eat. I think I’ll let Anya tellyou why she was in cuffs.”
The three took theirseats around the table and dug into the pancakes and bacon Ray made.
Anya said, “It wassilly bet, and he tricked me. This is all.”
Ray pointed a syrupyfork at Anya. “You set the parameters of the bet. Not me. There wasno prohibition against trickery.”
Gwynn swallowed amouthful of bacon. “Let me guess. You bet him that he couldn’thandcuff you.”
“This is true, butnot all of truth. I believed you would play fair, but I was wrong.”
Ray paused with aforkful between his plate and his mouth. “Is that what we’redoing now? Playing fair? That poor guy at the hospital last nightprobably doesn’t think you played fair.”
Anya ignored the jab.“These pancakes are delicious.”
Ray nodded insatisfaction. “That’s what I thought.”
Anya turned to Gwynn.“Do you have a diamond?”
She pulled back herhair to expose an earring. “These are about three-quarter carateach. My dad gave them to me for law school graduation.”
Anya leaned in,inspecting the solitaires. “They are beautiful. I do not have adiamond, but I think I would like one.”
“I’ll make a dealwith you,” Ray said. “If you’ll include English articles atleast fifty percent of the time for forty-eight hours, I’ll buy youone.”
The Russian placed afinger beside her mouth as if considering his bribe. “This is verynice offer, but is not necessary. I have Russian boyfriend namedViktor Volkov. He is in diamond business, and I can make him give meas many diamonds as I want. I can make him give me everything Iwant.”
“I like theconfidence,” he said, “but I suspect your so-called boyfriend hasno shortage of beautiful Russian women—and any other nationality hedesires—hanging from his arm anytime he wants.”
Gwynn jumped in. “Yes,but those women aren’t Anya. I used to be the cutest girl in almostany room until”—she cast a thumb toward the Russian—“sheshowed up.”
Anya rolled her eyes.“That is kind of you to say, but you are beautiful woman. If I wasman, I would fight for you.”
“Were,” Ray said.
Anya frowned. “Werewhat?”
“You said ‘If I wasman.’
