As the car rose, Cate worked hard at slowing her breathing. She was already made nervous by the displays of wealth and power, and was determined to project confidence to Mironov, not some sort of freshman skittishness. The elevator glided higher without a sound and only a hint of increasing gravity. She shut her eyes for a moment, thinking over her pitch. If it failed, she had no idea what other options she might have.

Cate tried to think of something calming and immediately Jack Monroe’s face popped into her head. He always knew what to say. She sighed and opened her eyes, noticing Sonya looking down at her.

Cate cleared her throat. “So, he’s a good boss?”

Sonya’s glossy lips curved slightly. “The best.” She continued to study Cate for a moment. “He is also a very busy man, and needs to be on a plane in a few hours. You must be brief, and to the point.”

Cate nodded, feeling suddenly under pressure. “He gets a lot of these, huh?”

Her face softened. “No, in fact, he gets none of these. He never sees anyone like this; you must have really piqued his interest.”

Cate brightened as she felt the elevator slow. The door shushed open again, and just like on the foyer, another pair of enormous men waited either side of the door. Valery liked his security. Must be a Russian thing.

The statuesque assistant led Cate to a huge set of double doors, with ‘AKM’ in calligraphic-style crest on a band of gold across the panels. She paused, giving Cate a genuine smile.

“You’ll do fine. Good luck.” She pushed open the door and stood back, not entering herself.

Cate sucked in a deep breath and walked in.

The first thing she noticed was the echo of her heels in the cavernous space. The lighting was soft, and the decorations sparse. There were a few islands of furniture – a huge antique desk that must have been twenty feet long, and a dark burgundy leather couch. But what drew her eyes was one entire wall was made of glass, a shimmering blue, and behind it, there were all manner of strange creatures gliding past. It must have contained an enormous amount of water as further into its depths clarity was lost in a deeper blue haze. Sea grasses swayed in an artificial current, and sand floored one side, building to weed-covered boulders in another, giving the whole scene a natural habitat quality.

Two eel-like fish sinuously approached the front of the tank to eye her, and Cate stepped closer to return the examination.

“Incredible,” she whispered. Both creatures were a little over a foot long, and had thick scales like armor plating. Along their backs was a tall, serrated dorsal fin like some sort of ancient dimetrodon dinosaur.

“Polypterus Senegalus.” The voice was deep, with the hint of a Russian accent.

Cate nodded without turning. “The dinosaur eel; very rare, very aggressive.”