The two were looking for Lester in the crowd. He hailed them with a raised hand. The taller one carried an oversized legal briefcase with a thick wire leash that ran up his sleeve.

Lester gave them a big fake grin. “Thanks for agreeing to see us. My boss has a few questions for you guys, if you don’t mind. This is Ted Molloy.”

The two heads swung, and they both examined Ted, as though committing his features to memory.

“You are cop?” the stone-faced one said. The accent could have been Russian. Eastern European, certainly.

Ted tried a laugh. It sounded like a cough. “Do I look like a cop?”

The man let his eyes inventory Ted’s clothing: suit, shirt, shoes, and tie. “You look like cop on the take.”

So much for dressing to impress. “I used to practice law.”

“Cop. Lawyer. Same, same. All crooked.”

Ted had suffered through his share of bad lawyer jokes and a few good ones. But being called crooked by the poster child for the Russian mob was a new low. He shook it off. “Can I buy you a coffee? Lunch? A drink? Or we can chat right here.”

“What we chat?”

And there it was. Ted took a deep breath and dove in. “I might be interested in buying, if you’re selling.”

“We buy and sell. All the time.”

The role of high roller did not sit well on Ted’s shoulders. He felt naked in front of these two. He decided to take his chances with a direct approach. “Your firm flipped some properties the other side of Flushing Meadows Park. I’m trying to get a handle on what went on. Corona Partners doesn’t usually get involved in deals this big.”

“What deal?”

“I’ve got the block and lot or the address. Which do you want? This was a group of properties that came up for auction as a package.”

“Why do you care about this? They are sold. We don’t own these.”

The guy knew exactly what properties Ted was asking about. “I want to buy in that neighborhood. I’m looking into this transaction.”

“You should forget this one.”

“That’s what I thought at first, but now I’m not so sure.”

Leaning in to Ted, the man spoke in an exaggerated whisper, as though bestowing a great confidence. “No. Be sure. Forget this one.”

“Records show that LBC bought the properties, but you guys were not the sellers. So county records must not be updated yet. Does Corona Partners also do business under another name?”

“Hey, Ted. You no listen. You are too busy making questions.”

The sounds of traffic, the protestors, and the gabble of voices from the constant flow of lawyers and petitioners had receded, as though the Russians traveled in a soundproof bubble. Each word spoken inside the bubble was magnified and possessed a clarity that was almost painful. Outside the bubble did not exist.