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Chapters (49)
  1. Title Page
  2. Acknowledgements
  3. ONE - THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW SEPTEMBER 24, 1999
  4. TWO - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA OCTOBER 6, 1999
  5. THREE - CAUCASUS REGION NEAR THE CASPIAN SEA, RUSSIA, OCTOBER 10, 1999
  6. FOUR - THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON, D.C. OCTOBER 26, 1999
  7. FIVE - KALININGRAD, RUSSIA OCTOBER 26, 1999
  8. SIX - KHABAROVSK TERRITORY NEAR THE RUSSIA-CHINA BORDER OCTOBER 27, 1999
  9. SEVEN - KALININGRAD, RUSSIA NOVEMBER 2, 1999
  10. EIGHT - WASHINGTON, D.C. NOVEMBER 5, 1999
  11. NINE - KALININGRAD REGION NOVEMBER 16, 1999
  12. TEN - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK NOVEMBER 28, 1999
  13. ELEVEN - NEW YORK CITY DECEMBER 23, 1999
  14. TWELVE - NEW YORK CITY DECEMBER 28, 1999
  15. THIRTEEN - VARIOUS LOCALES DECEMBER 31, 1999
  16. FOURTEEN - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA DECEMBER 31, 1999
  17. FIFTEEN - NEW YORK CITY DECEMBER 31, 1999
  18. SIXTEEN - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA DECEMBER 31, 1999
  19. SEVENTEEN - NEW YORK CITY JANUARY 1, 2000
  20. EIGHTEEN - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 1, 2000
  21. NINETEEN - NEW YORK CITY AND SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA JANUARY 1, 2000
  22. TWENTY - WASHINGTON, D.C. JANUARY 2, 2000 FROM THE
  23. TWENTY-ONE - NEW YORK CITY JANUARY 3, 2000 CALVARY CEMETERY, QUEENS
  24. TWENTY-TWO - MOSCOW JANUARY 6, 2000
  25. TWENTY-THREE - WASHINGTON, D.C. JANUARY 6, 2000
  26. TWENTY-FOUR - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA JANUARY 7, 2000
  27. TWENTY-FIVE - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK CITY JANUARY 8, 2000
  28. TWENTY-SIX - NEW YORK CITY JANUARY 16, 2000
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 16, 2000
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 16, 2000
  31. TWENTY-NINE - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 16, 2000
  32. THIRTY - NEW YORK CITY JANUARY 20, 2000
  33. THIRTY-ONE - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 26, 2000
  34. THIRTY-TWO - WASHINGTON, D.C. JANUARY 26, 2000
  35. THIRTY-THREE - WASHINGTON, D.C. JANUARY 28, 2000
  36. THIRTY-FOUR - NEW YORK CITY JANUARY 29, 2000
  37. THIRTY-FIVE - KALININGRAD, RUSSIA JANUARY 30, 2000
  38. THIRTY-SIX - THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW FEBRUARY 1, 2000
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN - ANKARA, TURKEY FEBRUARY 7, 2000
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT - CAPPADOCIA, SOUTHEASTERN TURKEY FEBRUARY 9, 2000
  41. THIRTY-NINE - KALININGRAD REGION FEBRUARY 9, 2000
  42. FORTY - KALININGRAD REGION FEBRUARY 10, 2000
  43. FORTY-ONE - NEW YORK CITY FEBRUARY 9, 2000
  44. FORTY-TWO - KALININGRAD REGION FEBRUARY 10
  45. FORTY-THREE - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA FEBRUARY 10, 2000
  46. FORTY-FOUR - MOSCOW FEBRUARY 11, 2000
  47. FORTY-FIVE - MOSCOW FEBRUARY 12, 2000
  48. FORTY-SIX - DAGOMYS BLACK SEA COAST, RUSSIA FEBRUARY 12, 2000
  49. FORTY-SEVEN - NEW YORK CITY KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FEBRUARY 17, 2000

“Let’s just hope there’s something in his office we can use,” Noriko said without looking up from her tools.

Nimec nodded. He slipped his hand into his trouser pocket, crossed his fingers out of sight.

“Let’s,” he said.

TWENTY-SEVEN - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 16, 2000

TWENTY-SEVEN

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 16, 2000

THE SKY OUTSIDE THE WINDOW WAS A BLUR OF FALLING snow. It blew in rippling cataracts, tinged eerily pink by the vapor light across the street.

Putting his cordless phone back on its base, Nick Roma cursed inwardly. He could hear the wind keening outside, hurling flakes against the pane like fistfuls of sand. Although the rain that had soaked the pavement earlier had delayed any accumulation, he knew the city would be buried under mountains of white by morning.

Well, Nick thought, he had enough to worry about without letting the weather get to him. Better to look ahead toward what was in store. A moment ago on the phone, Marissa had said that she missed him. Why hadn’t he been in touch?

It was good to keep them wondering. She would be generous with her affection tonight, would want to make sure he hadn’t tired of her. And if expenses, not sex, were on her mind as she arched against him, so what? The maintenance on the Shore Road co-op in which he kept her was nearly two thousand dollars a month. And then there was the small fortune she spent on clothes and trinkets. Money was what moved her to passion—although she gave as well as she got. As in any fair deal, each party came away satisfied.

Rising from behind his desk, he went to the coatrack, took his Armani sport coat off the hanger, and slipped it on. Then he stood in front of the mirror, smoothing and combing. Let the snow come down. Let the city choke on it. He would spend tomorrow luxuriating in soft, warm flesh.

Satisfied with his appearance, he returned to his desk. In a plastic bag beside it were two bottles of Pinot Noir. A French label—the American vintages didn’t even belong in the same class.

He glanced at the dial of his watch. Ten minutes to eleven. It was Sunday and the nightclub downstairs was closed. And as usual on Sunday nights, Nick had been at the office to meet with his captains, receive his skim, give them instructions, mediate their disputes, and so forth. Most had grumbled about having to come out in the storm, but they didn’t have any idea what it was like to stand in his shoes. He believed in keeping tight control of all his projects. Anybody who didn’t was asking for chaos.