Page 64 of Call Sign: King
A hush fell across the room as the men acknowledged Ryder’s arrival.
He was their King. Time to act like it.
“Thank you all for getting here so quickly. I know you were all busy on important assignments.”
Ice answered for his team. “There is no more important assignment than keeping our Queen safe.”
Solemn nods around the room confirmed the other men all felt the same.
“We’ve been busy,” Torch said, breaking the awkward silence, moving them into action. “Let’s get you up to speed.”
Ryder followed his team leaders to the bank of monitors, quickly taking stock of what they’d been working on in conjunction with Bing in D.C. and Wrath in Texas.
“We’ve got drones out surveilling all known locations for Volkov family activity. Just before you landed, we heard from Bing. It seems the news that Vlad is alive is spreading like wildfire through all of the locations we have bugged,” Ice reported.
“So… the rest of the organization hadn’t known he was alive either?”
“That’s what it looks like,” Torch said. “I listened in on a few of the conversations myself.” Torch paused, giving a weird glance in Ice’s direction before adding, “I’m picking up on general surprise across the board, but more importantly, not all of the foot soldiers seem to be happy about his resurrection. We might be able to capitalize on that.”
“Yeah, but we don’t have time to ferret out who is and isn’t behind Vlad’s return.” Ryder responded, wanting to make sure everyone understood. “Every minute the Queen is in their hands is a minute too long.”
He didn’t miss the glance Ice and Torch exchanged. “Spit it out,” Ryder said, pushing down the fear for what they might be holding back from him.
Ice nodded in Torch’s direction, his unspoken request for him to take the lead. Considering Ryder and Amir had known each other for many more years, he suspected the men were counting on Torch to manage Ryder.
“As tempting as it is to go in with guns blazing, we have to be smart about this. The Volkov’s have three compounds in the Moscow Oblate alone, not to mention training and storage depots spread across the massive country. Hell, they have expanded into legit businesses over the last four years, with offices in Belarus, Latvia, and Estonia. Right now, we don’t even know for sure at which location they’re keeping Khloe.”
Ice added, “If they’re smart, they’ll take her off grid to a location not even on our radar.”
“Normally, I’d agree with you, but this is personal… that means Vlad is going to take her somewhere meaningful, and there is nowhere more personal than Purgatory out in Barvikha. It’s where Viktor died, and I burned myself, setting this entire chain of events into motion. It’s also where Yurdin, who the money trail has told us is heavily involved, is located not to mention homebase for Vlad’s mother.”
“Which is why they would be stupid to take Khloe there,” Torch argued.
“I agree with Ryder,” Doc interjected, stepping forward into the middle of the group. “Psychologically, Vladimir and his mother have spent the last four years waiting to exact their revenge on Nicolai Romanovski. This is as personal as it can get for them, and that means they will be making decisions out of revenge, not logic.”
The men surrounding them were silent, although Ryder could see them giving weight to Doc’s analysis. Before joining Black Sky Ops, she’d spent her final years with the NSA in their profiling division. The woman knew her shit.
“So, what are you suggesting?” Ice asked.
“That they won’t take Khloe to some hidden location. Now that he’s made his move and the rest of the Bratva soldiers know he’s alive, he’s going to want to resume his position as the head of the family. He’s tired of hiding, and he won’t be able to properly take charge from some remote location.
“More importantly,” Doc continued. “I am certain he will keep Khloe close to him. Where Vlad goes, Khloe will be nearby. Even though the smart thing for him to do would be to send his hostage far away where we would never find her, the temptation to watch her suffer in person will be too hard for him to pass up.”
Doc’s offhanded comment about the bastard watching Khloe suffer was a punch to his gut. Ryder did his best to hide the pain just thinking of her frightened and alone brought him, instead funneling the pain toward his rage.
The men gathered around broke out into multiple side conversations — talking through the pros and cons of attacking one of the Volkov compounds before they were ready.
Ryder tuned out the chatter, closing his eyes, and trying to tap into his gut instincts.
What would Vlad do?
He’d known the man as well as one could know a Bratva crime lord. With Volkov blood in his veins, Vlad was like royalty — at least in Moscow. Men feared him. Women chased him for his power and his money.
Women.
Ryder hadn’t given Irena much thought until that moment. Had she known Vlad was still alive? And what about Alexi? His old friend had been steering the family ship for four years. How would he take the news his cousin was still alive? He’d stumbled his way through taking the helm of the powerful family business, so would Alexi be relieved? Or would he be angry that he’d been used, only to be thrown away now that the chosen child had been resurrected from the ashes?
“We need to pick up Alexi,” he said loud enough to bring the chatter around him to a close.
