The Boy from Reactor 4

CHAPTER 83





VICTOR HELPED STEFAN move the bodies into a closet until he could dispose of them the way they disposed of all the bad meat at the deli.

“You’re the best chess player the world never knew,” Stefan said.

“No. The best chess player the world never knew died in Chernobyl village last week. Did your men have any problem getting into my apartment?”

“No. No problem.”

“How is she?”

“The maiden and the dove, the dove and the maiden.” Stefan sighed with uncharacteristic delight. “They look at home on my living room wall. I love them so.”

“Of course you do. You have one hundred thousand reasons to love them. Have you heard from my—have you heard from Tara? Did she get the money you wired for me?”

“She did. She is good. She’s still hiding in upstate New York. You should call her and tell her to come home. Your word was good, Victor. Misha will never harm her again.”

“No,” Victor said, remembering the moment when Kirilo killed him. “No, he won’t. But first, we have to take care of business. You’re going to have to dispose of the two inside the meat locker, too.”

“What about Johnny Tanner?”

“No, no. A man does not survive in America by killing officers of the court. Send him out to me while you take care of Kirilo’s two men in the meat locker. I’ll make sure he understands that he was never here, that a dozen people will swear we were playing chess in the park all morning, and that no one in this neighborhood ever saw him, even if they did. He’ll listen. He’s a survivor. Look at him. He’s from the streets. He won’t risk his life or Nadia’s.”

Thirty seconds later, Johnny Tanner emerged from the freezer, shirt and suit jacket in hand, looking surprisingly composed. Stefan remained inside and closed the door behind him. While Johnny Tanner dressed, Victor explained the reality of life to him, in accordance with what he’d told Stefan. A cell phone in one of the lawyer’s pockets vibrated twice before Victor finished.

“Do we understand each other?” Victor said.

“I don’t know,” Johnny Tanner said as he straightened his tie. “If any harm comes to Nadia, I’m going to find you and square it, and if I don’t, I got friends who will. So you tell me. Do we understand each other?”

His cell phone vibrated again.

Victor waved his gun at Johnny’s pants pocket. “Is someone calling you?”

“No. Voice mail.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“Excuse me?”

“Let’s hear your voice mail. Maybe a mutual friend of ours left you a message. Let’s hear what she has to say.”