Bykov had a map of Manhattan folded to show Fulton Street and the Financial District, the Brighton Beach operators at his side.
He stabbed a finger on the location of the BP building on Nassau Street. “They’re heading south on foot.”
“Are they going somewhere we can intercept them?” Anosov asked. He was the hardest of the two, and in his Spetsnaz days had been very efficient, especially in urban infiltrations.
“Unknown. But they are being shadowed in case they take a cab or perhaps the subway. I’ll let you know when you’re entrain.”
“I want unrestricted mission orders.”
“Your only order is to make her disappear, permanently,” Bykov replied.
“What about her companion, the kid?”
“Him as well. But the woman may be carrying a flash drive—it’s a small device—”
“I know what it is,” Anosov said.
“If you find it, destroy it.” Bykov looked up from the map. “It would be unfortunate if I were to learn at some date in the future that the information contained on the drive were to surface somewhere. Ponimayu?” Understand?
“Understood.”
“Then udachi.” Good luck. “And go with God.”
Anosov and Valentin Panov took the elevator down to the parking garage, where they got their Cadillac Escalade SUV with deeply tinted windows from the guest parking spot. Valentin was behind the wheel, Leonid riding shotgun.
Before they started the engine, Leonid took out the photographs of Cassy and Donni and studied them one by one, handing each to Valentin as he finished.
“She’s a good-looking woman,” Leonid said, looking up.
Valentin grinned. “Be a shame to eliminate her when we’re finished.”
Anosov had been thinking much the same since the first time he’d gotten a look at the photos. “What do you have in mind?”
“She’s a marketable commodity.”
“So is the boy with her.”
“We don’t have a contract on him.”
“So?”
“When we’re done, we could clean them up and send both of them across the border to Canada—it’s soft enough—and then I was thinking we might get a good price with the Saudis. A package deal?”
“A hundred thousand?” Anosov asked.
“Each,” Panov said, and they laughed.
“Go,” Leonid said.
Panov started the Caddy, backed out of the slot, and once outside, turned onto Platt, headed west.
“What’s our play?” Panov asked.
“Get over to Nassau, do whatever you have to do to get ahead of them, and then double-park. I’ll get out. I don’t think we’ll have much trouble with either of them, especially if I let them see my gun.”