Page 109 of The Game

“Perhaps we can play a cleverer game than that,” Fabian says.

“What do you mean?” I say.

“I’d have to talk to some people, but if we set up other groups and people to do the investigating, we can get them to pull all this together. We can let them break the story.” He waves his hand over the file. “There needn’t be any connection to you, Anna.”

“How could we do that, though?” Jo says. “They’re bound to make the connection to Anna, given everything that’s happened.”

Fabian purses his lips and stares fixedly at the far wall.

“Yeah, I don’t see any way out of that,” Janus adds. “And as you said, they also know you were in his systems.”

“Well, he knows some hackers were in his system, but not who,” Fabian says, shaking his head. “I’m just a voice on a phone. When you hack into somewhere, there are thousands of systems obscuring the identity of where that comes from, and there’s almost no way of knowing who originated a hack or even if you can stop it.”

“Onion routing,” Jo murmurs.

“But yeah, taking down his systems came through Anna, and you,” Fabian adds, nodding at Janus. “They’re likely to come after Anna or her family, possibly you too, Janus.” He gets up and starts pacing around the room. “The good news is Konstantin’s not the FSB, resource and skills-wise. And I’m in his systems now, and he won’t be able to get me out of there, so we have enough leverage, even if the threat hasn’t gone away.” He waves his hand over the file. “We don’t have to make this information public just because I’ve put it together. Maybe it would be safer to let sleeping dogs lie.” He chews his lip as he stops walking. “Believe you me, there’s a lot of people out there getting away with all sorts of shit.”

Ugh. I hate that expression,let sleeping dogs lie. If I don’t expose Konstantin, he’ll continue to be a shadow over my life. He said as much. Maybe also my family, and Adam. Perhaps you can never escape your Russian roots, but you can always fight. I turn and look at Adam lying on the bed, face pale. Who’s to say Konstantin wouldn’t do something like this again? I’m in this now.Never back down from a fight: If they know you are scared, they will take advantage.What’s more, I owe it to Adam and everyone else to do what I can. Mila iswrong: It’s not about us or our tennis legacy. It’s about everyone who comes after, about all those young people. I want every sentence after my name to be how I brought down this terrible system in Russia, about how hard I fought for that.

“Fabian, let’s do it,” I say.

His eyes jerk to mine.

“Let’s give it to a newspaper,” I add. “If he comes after me, we’ll just have to deal with it. You can help us, yes?”

“More than help. Short-term at least, I can keep you safe. It’s more difficult with your family because they’re in Russia, but not impossible. I’m involved in some networks there.”

And when I look at him again I find him staring at the same spot on the wall somewhere over my head and tapping his fingers on his legs, like he’s deep in thought.

40

ADAM

Everything is welling up inside me like water rising behind a dam. Just when my life was turning a corner and the business was picking up and I felt something for the first time when I looked at a woman that wasn’t fear, I end up in hospital. I groan and shift in the bed.

“Adam?”

The room is dark, a dim light coming from a bank of machines monitoring something. Anna appears at my bedside.

“Anna?” Her dark hair is spilling over her shoulders, and she has never looked lovelier or more out of reach. “What time is it? What are you doing here?”

My eyes meet hers and something shimmers between us, some warmth and understanding that feels like a lifeline. She takes my hand and squeezes my fingers.

“It’s 9 p.m. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.” Her eyes fill with tears. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

I swallow down the sandpaper that has taken over my throat. “You went to Russia. What happened?”

She closes her eyes. “Not my best decision. I didn’t want to drag you andFabian into Konstantin’s orbit. It seemed sensible at the time.”

“I was going to come after you. I was booking a flight and then … I started to feel ill. Food poisoning, I think.”

“It wasn’t food poisoning. It looks as though you were somehow given a shot of insulin.”

I stare at her. “What?By who?”

“Konstantin, or rather someone he employed.”

“But how? … Fucking hell. Is insulin dangerous?”

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