Chapter 3
Within hours, Toby, Walt, and Goliath were secured in a heavily protected safehouse two counties away, while I remained at a private medical facility under Marcus’s careful supervision.
“Tell me everything about Victor,” I said, once IV fluids had restored enough strength for coherent conversation.
Marcus’s expression tightened. “Fifteen years, sir. He’s had access to nearly every operational detail during that time.”
“Motive?”
“We’re still investigating fully, but preliminary evidence suggests significant debts. Gambling, mostly. He owes considerably more than his salary could ever cover.”
“So he sold me out for money.”
“It appears that way. Though there’s something else.” Marcus hesitated before continuing. “Victor’s been in contact with the Kowalski organization for the past eight months.”
The name landed heavily. The Kowalski family had been circling my territory for years, probing for weaknesses, waiting for exactly this kind of opportunity.
“They’re funding this.”
“We believe so. Victor provided your location and travel details. They arranged the ambush, the burial, everything designed to look like an accident.”
“And the assassin they’ve hired for cleanup?”
“Someone called Viktor Reznik. Professional, expensive, exceptionally efficient. He’s already confirmed active in the region.”
I processed this information carefully, old instincts sharpening despite my body’s continued weakness. “He’ll need confirmation of my death or my location to complete the contract.”
“Which means he’ll be searching for you, and potentially anyone connected to your survival.”
“Toby.”
“Precisely.”
I closed my eyes briefly, frustration and protective instinct warring against practical strategic thinking. “We need to draw Reznik toward a controlled location, away from the boy and his family entirely.”
“That’s considerably risky, sir, given your current condition.”
“Less risky than allowing an innocent child to remain a target because he had the misfortune of finding me.”
Marcus studied me for a long moment. “You’ve never shown this level of concern for civilian casualties before.”
“I’ve never owed my life to a nine-year-old and his dog before either.”
Over the following hours, we developed careful strategy, using selective information leaks to draw Reznik toward a specific location while maintaining absolute secrecy regarding Toby’s safehouse.
Victor, unaware his betrayal had been discovered, continued operating normally within my organization, providing valuable opportunity to control exactly what information reached Kowalski’s people.
“He doesn’t know we know,” Marcus confirmed. “We can use that.”
“Bring him to me directly,” I said. “I want answers before anything else happens.”
