found. And while Dmitri was in jail at the time of the accident, it was still possible that he had ordered it or possibly a host of other potential suspects since the take down affected many people who suddenly found themselves without such easy extra income.
Born and raised in central California, to Sarah, the idea of mobsters and hit men was something invented by Hollywood and not a potential occurrence. She still couldn’t wrap her head around the lengthy list of candidates eager to see Vitaly dead, or at the very least, out of business.
The vibration of her phone caught her attention as she reached into her pocket. Sighing, she gathered her things, gave Vitaly a kiss and headed out to her car. She had taken to keeping additional changes of clothing at the office and between the company gym, where she could shower, and the cafeteria both at work and the hospital to keep her from going hungry, days could go by without the need to return home.
Exiting out on the tenth floor, Sarah gratefully accepted coffee from Laurel, the receptionist, as she sat down at her desk. The three-hour time difference between San Jose and their New York clients meant that her mornings kept her hopping.
She smiled when she saw her clothes hanging in dry cleaner bags. Vitaly’s support staff had rallied around Sarah when she came back to work, and had taken care of everything for her.
As Sarah scrolled through her emails, a video conference request popped up. Opening it up, she smiled at Simon, as she sipped at her coffee. As one of the only remaining employees in the New York office, Simon had stepped up and between his small team and Sarah, they had managed to get all the new contracts signed.
They were still having some trouble with the Unions at both the New Jersey and New York Port Authorities, as many Union members didn’t take the attention from law enforcement too well. But the more law-abiding workers were eager for the potential for promotion and they were moving forward with minimal setbacks. Except for one very important one. Vitaly Chekov still remained in a coma despite the fact that his physical injuries were healing.
“Morning, Simon. Where are we with Customs’ approval on the latest freight in from Russia?”
“All products were released this morning and are being loaded onto trucks as we speak. We should be on the road by mid-day.”
“Oh, that’s fantastic. Were there any problems?”
“None. Although, while it is cheaper to come in to New Jersey, clearance and approval seems to be smoother through New York.”
“Do whatever you think is best. Although I would like to smooth things over with the dock workers in New Jersey.”
“Yea, they’re still pissed. That might take some time.”
As Sarah and Simon went through the current list of clients and any potential issues, Ivan walked in with an older man who was carrying a briefcase. Motioning for them to sit, Sarah wrapped up her video call before turning to them. Rising, she walked around her desk, as Ivan introduced her to Joseph Williams, the lead investigator in Vitaly’s car accident.
“Would you like some coffee?” Sarah offered as she walked toward her door.
“No, that won’t be necessary,” came Ivan’s quick reply, “But you will want to shut the door.” Raising her eyebrow at him, she did as she was told before returning to her desk.
“What do you have?”
“Well, evidently Nardiv’s reach extended much farther than we originally thought,” Joseph began. As Sarah listened, Joseph detailed his investigation into Dmitri Nardiv, which spanned more than a decade.
From what he was able to learn, Nardiv was involved with the import of illegal cargo ranging from alcohol and drugs to human trafficking. Based on files he had found in Marcus’ possession, the plan was to link VIC Enterprises with the intent of destroying not only Vitaly’s reputation, but also everything he had built.
Sarah kept having to tell herself to shut her mouth
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