Page 66 of Gilded Saint

“When you exit, we’re doing it so no one comes looking. Period.”

“Does that mean you’ve cooked a plan?”

“We’ve got a dozen. But it’s not time yet.”

“Right.” I’ve been hearing that for at least four years.

“What’s the update from Qatar?”

“Don’t have one yet. There may not be one. Nick had to leave early for personal reasons.”

“Sources are telling us Russia had their hands all over that meeting.”

“Could be true. Things happened. I couldn’t press for details without raising suspicion.”

“Anything happen we need to know about?”

“Nick’s personal bullshit.”

“Speaking of personal, how’s life married to the mob?”

“The arrangement removed her from the mafia world.”

“It’s my understanding that’s a world you don’t leave.”

“She did.”

“Be careful. That wasn’t part of the op.”

I divert my attention to the overcast day and a plane flying high above the skyscrapers. He can take his criticisms and shove them where the sun doesn’t shine.

“What’s done is done. Sources say Russia’s purchased some serious firepower to replenish its arsenal. Have you heard anything about that?”

“No. I wasn’t called in to negotiate for them.” Nick doesn’t do any work for Russia. Putin assassinated his parents. He works around the Russians, not with them. “If you’re trying to track it down, I’d focus on Titan Shipping. Alessio Gagliano is leveraging some ships for the shadow fleet to get sanctioned goods out of Russia and to buyers. Would make sense if he’d traffic sanctioned goods into Russia too.”

“Is the syndicate orchestrating that?”

“Not Nick. There might be some players brokering the bigger ticket transactions. There’s money in sanctioned goods. But Nick sent me down to that meeting to learn more about Titan’s role in the shadow fleet, which says to me the syndicate is not orchestrating that piece of it. He wouldn’t need the intel if one of his partners was a part of the deal.”

“And Gagliano is your father-in-law, right?”

“That he is.”

“You’ve created a new definition for deep cover.”

“It’s a talent.”

“On another note, tensions with China are rising.”

“When are they not?”

“True. But we’re thinking the move on Taiwan is imminent.”

“Syndicate won’t touch that.”

“But the kingpins will shift positions in preparation. They’ll do everything they can to minimize losses and maximize gains from conflicts.”

“And?” What, exactly, does the CIA want from me?

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