Goldman hesitated a moment, tossed the candy wrapper on the rumpled bed, ran the list one more time in her head, then grabbed the phone and punched in Stan Miller’s cell phone number.

Marina Nosovitskaya pushed her way through the crowded bar, ignoring the stares she got from most of the men as only one accustomed to such attention could do. The Midtown business crowd was celebrating the end of another hectic workday, drowning minor frustrations or celebrating small achievements at the center of the business world in an ocean of Irish beer. She rebuffed more than one lewd advance from bleary-eyed, middle-aged Lotharios as she made her way through the smoky room. That, too, was the usual course.

She spied familiar faces there in the back corner. The three Russian Mafiosi rose as one to greet her, smiling, bowing in her direction, kissing her hand in turn. Marina lowered herself into the offered chair, demurely smoothing the skirt of her smart gray suit over her long, slim legs. None of the three men seemed to take any notice of her body at all. They were nothing more than the elderly honorary uncles greeting a favored niece. A chilled glass of white wine sat there awaiting her arrival, drops of condensation running down its stem onto the table.

She smiled as the stocky, tough criminals bustled to make her comfortable. It was heady to be able to wield such power over men with no more than a smile or an inch of revealed flesh. Or to have a real uncle as formidable as hers.

Nicholas Vujnovich spoke first once the pleasantries were finished.

“Marina, your uncle Boris sends his affection and greetings. He is looking forward to the day you return to the homeland once and for all.”

Nosovitskaya sipped her wine. She set the glass down before she answered, “Yes, Uncle Boris would expect that. I must tell you that I am having far too much fun here in New York City. America is not such a bad place as we have been led to believe, Nicholas. I may stay here. The men here are so much fun and so very sexy. Oh, and I am sure I could continue to help my uncle in his business ventures here as well.”

Vujnovich chose to ignore her comments. He sipped at the dark brew in the glass he held. He looked at her for a moment before he shifted the topic to the one that was on all their minds. “Marina, we need to discuss the operations of the OptiMarx system. Your report about the attempted execution of the SEC inspector caused a great deal of alarm in Moscow. You know we can’t afford for such an act to risk the plan at this crucial juncture. What do you know of this?”