ali

cigar smoke and the acrid scent of cheap coffee. The cavernous space was packed with soldiers, lieutenants

ed laptop to the cen

dit-tried to cut the tension. His face was pale, his voice tight. "Commander, please te

e lau

k. "The severance must be absolute by Omert

isibly overwhelmed and surrounded by stacks of operational files she clear

armories. I spoke in a steady, clinical voice-listing bank accounts, off-grid safe houses, bribe sched

ng routes on the projector. "Now, r

ld leather groaning under the pressure. He forced his hand down onto the table

against the floor. "No, let her finish!" she pleaded. "T

ime, I saw something other than entitlement in her eyes-I saw fear. Real, anim

are the original blueprints for the Route B FBI ambush? The ones where we e

cial blueprints. Those were off-the-book

demanded, her voice shrill. "

t a faded, yellow manila folder. I opened it, took out a stack of

at them, his brow furrowing. "This

letting the full weight of my

onitor printouts. I wrote it in the waiting room the night he died-because Cassius called and said the networ

air itself seemed to thicken, pres

said, my voice dangerously low. "And you repaid me by han

te. Even the fluoresce

the papers back from Luca.

xcuse me, Boss Romano. With Natalia leaving, do we need to resubmit the terr

r manicured nails digging into his suit jacket

ckering in their eyes for the first time. He was losing them. Not just

ge his crumbling authority. "I will give you the Architect title back. I will give you the entir

hone rang. The loud, piercing vide

creen displayed the unmistakable go

la was

shock. Beside him, Serena dropped the st

orensic audit summary slid right to Luca's boots. He looked down and r

or sixty-four percent of the en

h was literally laid out on the floor for all of

aptop. I turned on my heel and walked toward the em

nd turned to look back a

ing for this day

rk room. The door cl

t time in ten ye