Goldman stopped and looked through the glass-and-wood double doors. The place was packed, as usual. At first glance, she didn’t spot anyone she knew, anyone acting suspiciously. Nobody seemed to take notice of her at all. Just the normal evening crowd.

She shoved the door open, blinked at the instant burst of noise, and slipped inside. She pushed her way through the crowd, seeking the anonymous protection amid the seething mass of raucous people. There didn’t seem to be an available chair in the whole place. Then she was in luck. A group of three stood to leave, emptying a table just as she made her way past. Catherine grabbed a chair and, keeping her back to the wall, scanned the faces of everyone who came in through the door.

She ordered a glass of white wine and fought to clear the terror she knew showed on her face. A man came in, a big man who wore a black suit. He could have been one of Miller’s people from the hotel hallway.

Did he look her way? Yes. Then waved nonchalantly. A woman at the table next to Catherine’s waved back and motioned her friend over.

Catherine was so intently watching the door that she never saw the three men until they stood around her table, casting shadows on her. She jumped, startled, and started to stand. One man put a hand on her shoulder. “Miss Goldman, Dmitri Ustinov sent us to be of assistance to you.” His accent was so much like Dmitri’s, but much thicker. “We will take you to a safe place now.”

“Where did…? Where did you come from?” she blurted out. “I was watching. You didn’t come in the door.”

Nicholas Vujnovich answered, “We’ve been waiting for you. Now hurry. We don’t know how long it will take the OptiMarx goons to catch up. We have a car outside.”

Goldman realized that she didn’t have any choice. She was alone and defenseless against forces she had no idea how to fight. This wasn’t some CEO inflating his earnings report to buffalo the stockholders or a board of directors trying to pull some insider-trading scam. This episode had already generated far more excitement than she had ever expected to experience as a simple SEC geek.

She looked from one face to another. They were all older than middle-aged, all dark, all expressionless. Their eyes were like ice, without warmth. She hesitated, but what was the use? Right now this was her next best chance to get out of this mess alive.