Makros smiled. "No wonder you're so good at disappearing."
Aleksei chuckled. "Yeah, what did you say?" The sound of the helicopter faded into the distance as he walked away.
Makros's tone became serious. "I made a mistake and intercepted a shipment that was owned by the Orel Bratva."
Aleksei cursed. "How in the hell did that happen?"
"As I just said, it was an error. Guess neither of us can resist Russian business."
Aleksei whistled. "Orel Bratva, huh? That's one hell of a mess."
"The Orel Bratva is not an enemy to be taken lightly, Aleksei."
Aleksei's tone softened. "Neither are you, Crete."
"What do you have to do with them?"
Silence. Then Aleksei spoke. "Revenge for killing my wife. I'm sure you can understand."
Makros' grip on his glass tightened. His voice was curt. "I understand."
Aleksei's voice turned thoughtful. "I knew our paths would meet again, but I didn't expect it to be so soon neither did I expect we would have another common enemy."
"Be careful, Aleksei," Makros cautioned. "For both our sakes. Or else this time, I'll actually have to kill you."
"How do you kill a ghost?"
The phone call ended.
Makros gazed at the numbers in his hand. If Aleksei told the truth, these were the men who had cost him millions.
Then the door was flung open. Dragon entered, his face somber.
Makros sighed. "Don't you know how to knock?"
"It was Vincenzo," Dragon declared, collapsing into a chair. "He rigged the shipment. He has an inside man here but I couldn't get a name from my source before I beat him to death."
Makros was not shocked. "I just got word." He gestured to the piece of paper. "Now we hunt for the spies."
Dragon whistled. "Spies, as in more than one?"
"Uh-huh."
Makros and Dragon worked that evening in the comms room. Dragon, apart from being a killer and an excellent cook, was also an asset tracker and hacker. They pulled out conversations, calls, and bank statements from the spies' phone numbers.
Their betrayal was deep.
Makros printed out a copy of it all. There would be blood come dawn.
Leila had been watching Makros closely all day. He had been leaving her alone since after their time together at the hotel. She enjoyed the moment of peace, but it also unsettled her. Something was different. And his usual calm, controlled manner had an edge to it tonight.
Then she noticed why he was different. She noticed Dragon pulling a man out forcefully. The man's face was bloodied—Dragon had taken good care of that. He never disappointed.
Leila followed Dragon, and she was followed closely by Nicolai.
"What's going on?" Leila asked Nicolai.
Nicolai without breaking pace replied. "Haven't you heard? Your husband caught a traitor, and he's making an example out of him."
