Page 22 of Damian & Jun, Episodes 13-16
The rest of the Residency nodded.
“I told you,” Ellisandre said, looking at Sevastyan.
“I’m not important,” Sevastyan snapped.
“You are to me. And to Rei.” Ellisandre leveled Sevastyan with a glare.
Rei squeezed Sevastyan’s arm, saying nothing.
Sevastyan grimaced. “I’m not certain we can carry out the mission without casualties.”
Richard leaned forward, elbows on his knees, fingers interlaced together between them. “That is a problem we can work on together. Ellisandre, has Linda met them yet?”
“No.” Ellisandre cut her eyes at Sevastyan. “Someone thinks they are too dangerous to meet.”
Émeric spoke. “How much time do we have before the warrant arrives and you give your offer?”
“A month, give or take a day,” Sevastyan responded.
“Then we have time to plan.” Émeric looked around the room. “How much intel are you willing to offer on the Merchari?”
“With sufficient security, everything.” Sevastyan glanced at Ellisandre.
Damian
Sevastyan and Ellisandre had come prepared. It was hard not to admire the Russian, as twitchy and guarded as he was. There was a pallor in his cheeks that spoke to fear, but his words were quick and precise. He moved easily between French, English, and Korean, as he explained the power structure that needed to be taken down. Rei knelt in front of the coffee table with a large sheet of paper and sketched as Sevastyan spoke. It was obvious he knew precisely what Sevastyan was going to say before he said it. However the two may have met, they were in perfect sync and trust with each other.
The picture they drew was troubling, though compared with other cases Damian had heard of over the years, not unexpected. The Merchari was a global crime empire with their origins in the old Soviet power base. They directly controlled trafficking and smuggling rings across parts of Central and East Asia, with threads digging into North America on the west coast. Bak Sahyuk had been in their orbit for decades, only moving up the chain and into their direct ranks after installing Jun as an asset in BBB3. Since then he’d become one of their forward agents based in California.
The client list the Merchari had was the source of much of their power. As Rei wrote out the list of names in a clear hand, Damian grimaced. He’d met and interacted with some of them and carried out legal work involving one of them.
“These are the ones I can prove have engaged in bribes, hired agents for sabotage, paid for items to be smuggled, or engaged in human smuggling.” Sevastyan tapped one name. “I still know where this man’s son-in-law is. He had him sold out of the country.”
Damian scowled. It was always disturbing to be reminded how evil a person could be while still circulating in society.
Émeric leaned forward, reading the mapped connections, locations, and names. “I can see why you’ve had problems bringing them down. Even if you get one arrested, one of the others could try to get them off.”
Sevastyan nodded, eyes sober. “We either have to keep arrests secret and ensure no one is linked to the Merchari in the lead up, or we have to carry out justice ourselves. But there’s too many for just a couple of us to work fast enough.”
Damian rubbed the back of his head. It was a logistical problem of immense proportions and legal implications. Criminal law was something he’d studied, but not extensively. What he did understand was structure and downstream consequences of relationships and rules. He looked towards Richard and Émeric. Both of them looked concerned, but determined.
“We’ll need Jun to buy us time. Thirty days isn’t enough to set this up.” Émeric said, softly. “But we know what they care about most. It can be done.”
Sevastyan looked at him as if he could almost not believe it, but the dark French man smiled tightly. “Ellisandre wouldn’t have brought you here if they didn’t believe we could accomplish this.”
Ellisandre snorted, softly. “As if I would risk my reputation.”
Damian took a deep breath and grabbed one of the markers. “What we need to do is sweep them all up at once, so they can’t coordinate or go on the offensive. A corrupt judge can’t release someone if they’re in jail themselves.”
In the aftermath of the visit, Damian stood with Richard by the full-length windows of the living room. The curtains were open, and the sun had long since set. Behind them, Collin was helping Jun set a tray of enchiladas on the coffee table. Damian held his thoughts until the boys had disappeared into the kitchen again.
“I think the Merchari were behind Dana’s mom,” Damian murmured.
Richard pressed his lips together. “I wondered if you had noticed that.”
Damian grimaced. “I don’t think they were on their own, only using the same organization for man power.”
“Nothing the Merchari do is likely on their own. They’re criminal mercenaries for hire and profit.” Richard rocked his weight back and forth, as if he could shake a thought loose with the motion. “Collin didn’t ask Sevastyan about his father.”
