“I imagine you have,” I reply.
Another pause. Longer this time, more deliberate.
“We’d like a meeting.”
It’s our mediator of sorts. A neutral party that facilitates the meetings between the families when necessary. I don’t believe Yuri had a chance to make any meaningful alliances with anyone, but he was sneaky. And desperate. If he got the Italians or Irish to take up with him, I might have a problem.
“They’re interested in stability,” he continues. “In understanding the new arrangement.”
Who’s in control. Whether it will hold. Whether they need to intervene.
“They’ll find it stable,” I say.
“I’m sure they will. Yuri had brothers,” the man says.
I don’t respond.
“They’re making noise,” he adds.
“They’ll be handled,” I say.
“We’ll see you soon, Sergei. The details will follow within the hour.”
The line goes dead.
I stand there for a moment, phone still in my hand, the silence pressing in.
I go back into the room to shower and get ready for the day. Sofia sleeps through it all.
Kirill is already in the office when I walk in. He looks up, takes one look at my face, and skips anything unnecessary.
“You got the call?”
“I did.”
"Details?”
“Don’t have them yet. Any news?”
“They’re making noise. Testing the boundaries.”
“Do they have support?”
“Doesn’t seem like it, but they could be trying to operate underground.
“Just keep a close eye on things,” I tell him. “I want to know if they try to board a plane.”
“Of course. Have you told her yet?”
“Not yet.”
“She deserves to know,” he says. “She needs to be ready in case they get through.”
“I’ll tell her when I decide.”
“Okay. You ready to go check on things?”
We leave the brownstone. I find it harder and harder to leave every day.