Free Arielle Immortal Journey (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 5) by Lilian Roberts Page B

throat again. Turning in Larue’s direction, he said, “We are going to use one of the most common practices, extortion. We are going to send a letter to his office and include a couple photos of his loved ones. We'll demand that he surrenders all the designs and documents, or something very unpleasant will happen.” He looked smug. “If he doesn’t cooperate, we must be prepared to make sure that he understands that physical harm will be our only option. We must also be prepared to find the most important person in his life, and I mean his real weakness if we are going to use that person to force him into negotiations.”
    “That sounds good. I think that you have something solid here, Rainer,” Larue said, smiling.
    “I sure hope Nikola finds it interesting and gives us his approval. If he does give us the go ahead, we’ll figure out the best people to assign for the project. We’ll need people to handle the surveillance, the extortion letter issuance, and someone to enforce both items. Be prepared to expand on these issues to that son of a bitch tomorrow.” With that, Rainer ended the meeting and sent the others home.
     
     
    Larue and Hahn walked out of the conference room deep in thought. They held no delusions that their lives were on the line. They were sure that Rainer would send them down the river before he went down himself.
     
     
    It was early the next morning when the black Volvo rolled down the quiet street of Gorokhovaya Ulitsa. Rainer, Larue, and Hahn were ready for their presentation. They decided that Rainer would do all the talking unless Nikola asked them directly for details. They rode in awkward silence. Rainer's thoughts consumed by Nikola’s threats. When they arrived, they pressed the button on the first floor that would give them access to Nikola’s private elevator. His secretary buzzed the private elevator door open, and allowed them to walk in. Rainer hit the button on the panel that lead to the fourth floor. The door opened directly into Nikola’s office. He and his assistant were the only ones that occupied this side of the building.
    Nikola was sprawled in the big chair behind his desk facing the window. He appeared to be reading some papers. When the elevator doors opened, he swiveled around to face it and waved them in. There was a deep line showing across his forehead.
    “Bad news?” Rainer asked.
    “The Prime Minister said that he is thinking of having the Federal Security Service work with us on this assignment.”
    “But I thought that FSB was put in place as additional power to target and intimidate opposition groups?” Rainer asked.
    “The truth is that they are one and the same with the old KGB .”
    “The KGB!” Larue exclaimed . “ I thought they dismantled them back in 1991?”
    “Yes, that’s what they said about KGB as well as that communism was dead. However, what they failed to tell everyone is that communism never really died in Russia. It just took a more compassionate form in order to smooth the progress of relations with the West,” Nikola said, scarcely looking at them. He gave them the impression of being engrossed in the piece of paper in front of him. He finally threw the piece of paper on his desk and stood up, letting out a long loud growl. He faced Rainer, ignoring the other two.
    “Do you have a plan for me that I can give to the Prime Minister, and see if he can leave us alone to do this job?” he snapped, his tone cold.
    Rainer swallowed, and then surprised himself with the calmness in his voice. “Yes, we have a plan, and a backup plan, and I’m sure that this time we’ll be successful.”
    Nikola waved for them to sit. He moved behind his desk and threw himself back down in his big chair, took a cigar from the cigar box, and lit it with a swift move. “I’m listening,” he said frostily.
    Rainer went into long detail about both plans. Nikola seemed interested. A faint smile replaced his tough look. By the end of the