Page 73 of Near Miss

The Bean Counter was standing behind his desk, pulling his suit jacket on. Korolev stopped a respectful distance away and waited.

The Bean Counter checked his computer screen and picked up his briefcase before finally looking at Korolev. “Let’s go.”

“Go? Where, sir?”

“To see the Greek.”

Korolev felt a chill run down his back.

The Bean Counter didn’t say another word until they were in the back seat of his sedan, on the way across town. “I assume you failed.”

“It did not go as hoped.”

“What happened?”

Korolev told him about last night’s attempt to kidnap Matilda Martin, leaving nothing out, knowing to do so would not go unpunished.

“Are you even sure she was there?” the Bean Counter asked.

“I...”

The Bean Counter raised an eyebrow.

“No,” Korolev said. “I’m not sure. She has not been seen for several days.”

“Is it possible she left the city?”

Korolev reluctantly nodded. “It is possible.”

The Bean Counter sighed. “Then I guess I have no choice.”

The Greek’s assistant met the Bean Counter and Korolev at the entrance of a building in Brooklyn that was undergoing renovation and led them through the first floor to a closed door.

“One moment, please,” the assistant said, then went inside. Five minutes passed before he reappeared and motioned for them to enter.

The Greek sat at the only table in the room, working on a plate ofcacio e pepe. In three of the other chairs were members of his inner circle. None of them were eating.

Without looking up from his food, Gromyko said, “Nice ofyou to stop by. I haven’t seen you for what? More than a week now, isn’t it?”

“My apologies, Alexei,” the Bean Counter said. “I’ve been busy.”

“You must have been. Can I assume the reason you’re here now is because you finally have an answer for me?”

The Bean Counter had hoped to avoid this, but the failure to find Matilda Martin and offer her up instead meant he no longer had a choice. “I do. I would have reported to you sooner, but I wanted to make sure there was no mistake.”

Gromyko looked at him. “So, tell me. Who killed my nephew?”

“The short answer is he did it to himself.”

The Greek stared at him, face blank.

“The bomb was his,” the Bean Counter said. “He intended it for someone else, but it went off when it was still in his possession.”

His boss’s gaze did not change.

The Bean Counter gestured to his companion. “I asked Mr. Korolev to learn all he could about the incident. He can fill in the details.”

Gromyko’s eyes shifted to the younger man without his face moving. “Leonid, isn’t it?”

---