Zack was torn. A part of him yearned to put a bullet in Belyakov’s head, but he knew that the second he pulled the trigger, his life was forfeit. The thought of Steph alone and the kids growing up without a father was unfathomable, a reality he could not bear for them to endure. He’d once heard it said that a man with a family was hostage to the world, and at that moment, he truly understood the depth and accuracy of that statement. He lowered the Glock and waited for Belyakov to continue. There was no point in resisting, and both of them knew it.

Belyakov continued as one of the operators emerged from the backseat of the Explorer with the prized backpack. “I thought so. No matter what you think, no one else is going to die because of what’s on that machine.”

Zack sighed, the contradictions from Belyakov almost as frustrating and exhausting as the gunfights. “Explain.”

“Do you remember a few years ago there was a story about how all of the spy agencies and countries of the world—yours, mine, the Chinese, Iran, and even the Cubans—were recruiting college students to develop as sources and assets for long-term operations? It grabbed your national headlines for a brief time, but like all things in your country, the people lost interest and moved on to the next item in the news cycle. It’s truly amazing to me how short the attention span of the average American is. In Russia, we never forget old grievances. Ever. Regardless,” he said, waving a hand as if urging himself forward, “that story spooked some senior people in Moscow, as well as the president himself. The thought was that if we and everyone else could recruit in America, the Americans could recruit our students in Russia. The realization shook the halls of our FSB, and as a result, an effort was launched quietly to uncover how your former employer and other agencies might recruit Russian students to one day use against us.”

Zack’s mind spun at the implications of such assets recruited and developed at an early age. The amount of intelligence they could provide, the damage they could do, for any country, was worth the investment.

“But what the hell does that have to do with that psychopath over there, a man who wanted you dead, who would’ve had you dead had it not been for me?”