Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Roderick. The old colleague of Zander’s who we tracked down and dealt with in Sydney. Christ. That was… six years ago? Zander has been watching us for that long?
“I appreciated that you dispensed with that matter such as you did. All of you. Had it been left to me, I would have perhaps seen to it a bit more swiftly, but I know you’ve always been the cautious one in this curious little geometry, Danny, so I can’t fault you for taking the time you did to ensure his role in the… misfortune.” He raises an eyebrow at me.
I hate euphemisms and I really hate them when they’re bullshit. But I stay quiet. Because he’s right. I am cautious. And guys like Zander van den Berg are why.
“So, the following months and years were spent assembling the infrastructure necessary to see to matters that needed to be seen to. Orchestrating a new cadre. Crafting a new identity. One who could wield influence over any remaining Russian moeilikheid makers who might try to create havoc for you.”
All this talk of Zander’s concern for Alec and Lars doesn’t ring true. I have no doubt that there are kernels of truth in it somewhere, but the notion that his primary focus was making sure his baby boys were okay is bull kak, as he might say. I continue listening. Waiting for him to get to the part about getting Christine involved.
“Alexei Gorny is a very powerful man,” he goes on. “An oligarch of unparalleled influence who seemed to have just appeared out of thin air.”
He makes a “poof” gesture with his hand, like a mediocre, boardwalk magician.
“But in the world of the Russian elite, it didn’t matter to anyone where he came from and why no one had heard of him prior. All that matters is that he has shown himself to be three things that no one wants to upset: Wealthy, influential, and vicious.
“And when all those who were involved in the accident that claimed the lives of Zander and Yolandi van den Berg had been dealt with, Mr. Gorny gave explicit orders that that was that. Done. Finished. And his word had become law.
“I daresay that at this moment, Alexei Gorny is the most powerful man in the Russian Federation. Even though he doesn’t live there and doesn’t actually exist. But those are irrelevant details. Truth is only truth if you believe it, and people believe in the power and omnipresence of Mr. Gorny. For anyone of consequence, Alexei Gorny is the truth.”
He now moves back up the steps to the stage. Still talking.
“So, with those matters handled and my concerns about your safety assuaged, I was finally in a position to turn my attention back to the lone unresolved piece of business I needed to address…”
He once again sits in the seat beside the table with the diamond on it. He strokes it almost exactly like he was stroking Andra’s hair.
“My diamond. I did still want it returned. Obviously. I have no intention of selling it again or, indeed, ever letting it go. Too much pain has been endured over this diamond to let it out of my possession now that I have it back. But there was one problem. When I went to retrieve it… it was gone.”
He looks right at me when he says it. Because I’m the one who stole it. Me and Christine. During that period after we had taken it from Zander’s safe, before I walked away and went to work with Brasil. During that time when I was still unsure about Alec and thought that rather than just stealing it for kicks, Christine and I could use it to change our lives. We could sell it. We could take the money and run away to… wherever.
So, Zander has been watching us this whole time. All these years. He’s known what we’ve been up to all along. Everything we’ve been doing. And he’s just been lying in wait. And, more than anything else about him, that’s what makes him a threat.
Someone who can play a long game that long, that complex; someone who—as he just laid out—can convince an entire country that he is real and cause it to bow to his will, is someone to be feared. And that means that it’s not just us against him. It’s us against the whole fucking world.
The good news, if there is any, is those are basically the same odds as always.
“So, now we get to the part I’m sure you’re most curious about,” he goes on. “It was never my intention to remain shielded from you for so long, Alec. But you three”—he shakes his head, laughing a bit—“you three are quite something, you are. First, Danny walks away, then you and Christine find yourselves pregnant, then Christine loses it and you go off to bury your sorrows in Eliza’s bosom…”