Katharina. I sighed. Now I’d put two innocent people in danger. This mission got worse and worse.

“God, I’m hungry,” said Gabriel.

“Let me check my flight suit,” said Gina. “I usually have some energy bars in the pockets.”

As she started digging in her pack for it, JD turned to me. He looked as helpless as I felt. “Any ideas?” he asked.

I sighed. “We could call Luka Malakov. See if he can make any sense of this.”

JD immediately shook his head. “I don’t want us getting involved with the Bratva.”

There was a reason why Kian had put him in charge of this bunch of reprobates. We needed someone honest, what the Americans would call a straight shooter, to keep us in line. But….I threw up my hands in defeat. “It’s the only idea I’ve got.”

We looked around at the rest of the team. Everyone looked broken and beaten. Even Gabriel shrugged, and he always had a plan. JD nodded tiredly.

I asked Erin for Luka’s number and she dutifully held up the business card while I dialed. By now, Gina had found a couple of energy bars and was dividing them up. But that had attracted attention. A homeless guy in his sixties with straggly white hair shambled over and stared longingly at the energy bar. He looked as if he hadn’t eaten in a week. Gina sighed and gave it to him and he backed away, nodding his thanks. That left us with one bar between eight people. Gina got out her knife and started carefully cutting it up.

Luka answered the phone. With his girlfriend acting as translator, I told him what we’d learned. “Any idea why Becker would want to blackmail long-dead generals?” I asked. “Or if there was some government cover up, back in the eighties, and they murdered those women?”

I waited while Luka’s girlfriend translated. “No idea,” said Luka.

I stared off into the darkness, my mind racing. Think! I had to figure this out. A little voice reminded me that I was just a dumb squaddie, just that kid from a poor neighborhood who failed most of his exams. I wasn’t a thinker, like Gabriel. I was good for chatting up women and downing shots and that was about it.

But if I didn’t work it out, we were all going to jail. Think, you stupid bastard, think!

“I am sorry,” muttered Luka. “Is all?” I could tell he was getting ready to hang up. Think!

“Hey!” Gina slapped Colton’s hand away from the cut-up energy bar. “That’s my piece!”

A memory glowed at the back of my brain, something familiar but upside down.

My piece.

My sister.

The general had said Svetlana was his sister, but he didn’t have any sisters. What if, what if….