Belyakov smiled, a mixture of appreciation and amusement, tinged with the slightest regret, which Zack couldn’t decipher. “Do you believe in fate? Better yet, if not fate, then karma? It was never a concept I much considered, but after the events of the last few weeks, I’m beginning to reevaluate my position.” He kicked at the ground, as if shoving something aside that only he could see. “Three weeks ago, a Russian source inside your agency informed Moscow that the Americans had compiled a list of Russian students from our most prestigious universities. I was brought over on a diplomatic mission, as were my friends over there, with official documents and support to expedite the retrieval of that list. I was never told who the source was, but once the source had secured the list and relayed all of the information to Gregory at our embassy, I was tasked with devising a plan to receive it.”

“But how does that involve Griffin Huntsmen? I still don’t get it,” Zack said.

“My revenge, Zack. It was all because of my desire for revenge,” Belyakov answered honestly, tinged with shame. “As a man who takes professional pride in knowing his international competitors, Mr. Huntsmen’s name was provided to me, and I could not resist the temptation. I decided that I’d use him to obtain the laptop, and then when he delivered it, I’d kill him for what he wanted to do to me in Malta,” Belyakov said, and looked Zack directly in the eyes. “And just so you understand, I still plan to.”

No matter how Zack tried to think his way out of the predicament, there were no moves he could make. He realized—and accepted—that Belyakov would have his revenge. Griffin Huntsmen would die, just not by his hand.

“But how did it all go so wrong, Aleksei? Have you seen our neighborhood? I’ve left a trail of bodies, and our goddamned neighborhood gazebo just burned to the ground,” Zack said accusingly, his words like venom expelled from inside.

“The source was supposed to bring it out of the agency himself. I have no idea what happened or what went wrong. Maybe he got spooked. Maybe he realized that while he himself was a traitor, he could place the blame elsewhere. All I know is that two things happened: the source disappeared, and the laptop’s beacon was triggered—both on the same day. We tracked it via GPS all the way here, but then we lost the signal, which is when the plan changed. I had Gregory retask Huntsmen to devise a plan to evacuate the neighborhood, search house-by-house, and obtain the laptop.” He sighed, an admittance of defeat and guilt. “No one was supposed to get hurt.”

“But people died, Aleksei, and like it or not, you’re partly responsible. What a goddamned mess you’ve made.” Zack said exhaustedly.