*Aleksei*
"You're late," I said.
Rob didn't flinch, used to my acrid demeanor. He shuts the office door behind him and loosens his collar. "Traffic," he states, his tone gruff.
"Or your patience thinning."
"I don't waste time, Aleksei. You know that."
I did. That's why he was the only one who had the privilege of walking into this room without knocking.
Rob had been there since the very beginning, before the skyline views and glass walls, when everything moved in the dark and nothing had a paper trail. We built this from nothing. Now it's contracts, shipments, offshore accounts with more aliases than passports.
He didn't just stand beside me, he helped shaped every part of it. My right hand man. He was the reason it never fell. He was the only one who never had to prove himself twice.
My office was on one of the upper floors of a high-rise in Moscow. Through the window, I could see the river. The sun was just coming up, causing the trees to cast long shadows over the water. The river moved slowly, catching small streaks of light. People paid good money for views like this, but to me, it all looked the same.
There were books arranged neatly on the shelves. They've been like that for years. I can't even remember the last time I opened one.
Nothing was out of place.
"You hear from Turin yet?" I asked, scanning the report on my desk.
"No," Rob said, standing a few feet away, his posture straight, black shirt rolled to the elbows. He always looked like he'd stepped out of something violent and into something important. "They're stalling again."
I glanced at the clock. Too early for excuses, too late for mistakes.
"They've had two weeks."
"They say the shipment's delayed. Weather, customs, whatever excuse they picked today."
I lean back, fingers pressed together, watching the city unfold. Loud, messy. Same old game.
"They either deliver," I said, "or we find another port that doesn't ask so many questions."
Rob tilted his head slightly, calm as ever. "You want me to press them?"
"Not yet. Let's see if they fold on their own. Either way, I want eyes on the port."
He nodded, turning toward the door. "Erik's already on it. But there's noise from Athens. Their guy keeps dodging calls."
I stared out the window. "Then go through Paulo. He owes me a few favors."
Rob smirked.
He didn't say anything at first. A beat of silence. "We hearing anything from Barinov group?"
"Nothing solid. They're stressed about the Rojano deal. Blaming us, but not loud enough to make it official."
I tapped my fingers once against the desk. "Let them spiral. It's better when they're desperate."
Rob didn't say anything for a while, then his voice was slower, careful. "There's something else."
I glanced up. "Go on."
"That girl. Aria. The one from last week."
I didn't say anything right away. I let her name hang. A look was all the approval he needed.
"You haven't said anything about her."
I feign nonchalance "Nothing to say" I answer flatly.
"You've seen her file"
Rob's eyes narrowed. "But you haven't acted. No orders. No questions."
I shrugged, "Exactly, she's just a name in the system."
He studies me for a second longer, then just nods. "If that changes, you'll let me know."
He left without another word.
The silence settled.
The kind that felt heavier in a room built for power.
Out there, the city kept moving in patterns, routines, rhythms, each day like the one before. All of it charted, almost mechanical.
Except lately, something felt out of place, but it didn't make sense to me.
I found my thoughts circling back, carving the outline of a name.
Aria.