It's after 2am when Ms. S finally leaves me to get some rest. The tension remained throughout the meeting while we discussed what was safe to tell Daniel, and several times I caught her looking at me sideways, as if to analyze my judgment and how compromised I was due to my relationship with Delphine. She never asked how involved I had become with the blonde during our stay in Poland, what exactly happened between us, but I suspect she, at the very least, is apprehensive.
Eventually, we decided it was safe to reveal all my findings regarding Mariusz, including his partnership with the departed Lebedev. We don't really know how aware Daniel already is, and hiding something from him is a risk not worth taking. While Siobhan flashed a discontented frown when I told her about Delphine's theory; that Daniel could've sent me just to test how well Mariusz has hidden his dirt, she also demonstrated interest and didn't immediately disregard the idea. She even took it a step further and ventured that it might've been a test on myself. Not only regarding my abilities to investigate, but if I'd be completely honest with him, a test of my loyalty.
On the other hand, Delphine's visit to Poland and us meeting there is obviously to be kept from Sarah and Felix. At this point, the less they know about Delphine's suspicious background and her actions the better. Most likely they won't take it kindly and it will be an unnecessary source of discord among us. We're supposed to tighten our ranks, not break apart. I know Ms. S is not happy about it, but she has no other option but to task me with keeping an eye on Delphine's activities. In her own words: 'I'm in a privileged position to do so.' At the same time Siobhan is determined to go over her contacts, Delphine's true identity might've slipped through the cracks of official agencies, but she's been around, and if it's true that she has connections with the underground, I have very little doubt that Ms. S will find it.
All this she tells me as she reinforces the idea that I must remain vigilant, taking advantage of my position to unearth more about Delphine. I nod along, assuring her that my allegiances haven't changed, this is not the time to plant doubts about my commitment to the mission and our team, too much is at stake. At the end of the day my priorities remain the same: work the mission as long as it doesn't conflict with the safety of our group and do my best to assist Siobhan uncover who and why someone is trying to sabotage us. Delphine, in the best case scenario, is a distraction or, in the worst, is working against us. Either way, the less she knows about me and why I'm in the Webster's organization, the better.
In the morning, I catch the short flight back to Boston and from there I taxi to the Websters' residence. The weather must've been quite cold here as well, the ground is almost frozen, although there is no snow in sight, just ice.
At the gate I wait a couple of minutes for one of Sarah's guys to meet me and help me carry the bags to the cottage, which I thankfully find empty. Sarah and Felix are probably attending to their assignments, and I welcome the peace and quiet to just put my thoughts in order as I take a long, warm shower. It's not until I'm finishing unpacking that I hear the door open as both of the come in.
Taking a deep breath, I decide to join them. I find Sarah in the kitchen, with her back to the door, while Felix is probably the source of the noise coming from the bathroom.
"Hi!" I greet her quietly from the door, not wanting to startle her.
Sarah turns around and smiles at me. "Welcome back!" She says and at least it sounds genuine. "How was the trip?"
"Exhausting," I reply with a huff and sit on one of the chairs, facing her. "You don't need any help with that, do you?" I offer half-heartedly when Sarah returns to the task of cutting some vegetables.
"You could get the fish out of the fridge," she suggests, either not catching my cue, or choosing to ignore it. "There's none for you though, since you didn't bother to warn us you were coming back."
I grimace and get up to do what she asks. "I wanted to surprise you," I say, carrying the tray to the balcony. "I'm not hungry anyway."
"Yeah…" Sarah snorts and pushes a grill pan on top of the stove and turns on the exhaust fan. "How fucked up is your internal clock?"
"Plenty," I answer with a tired smile.
"Oh… look who has decided to grace us with her royal presence!" Felix says with fake enthusiasm, coming through the door.
I'm too tired to give him an answer, this is a fight not worth fighting. I just roll my eyes and turn my attention to Sarah, who's looking at Felix with an unfriendly glare. She doesn't seem interested in picking a fight either.
"Where were you anyway?" She asks as the fish sizzles when she places it on the hot surface.
"Europe," I reply vaguely, offering some sort of information to prevent further discord. "Daniel wanted me to look into someone."
"Anything interesting?" Sarah pursues further.
"I suppose that depends on what Daniel decides to do with the information I brought," I say.
Sarah hums and continues to tend to their meal. She's holding back on the questioning, probably as a result of a talk they had with Siobhan when they went to her with their grievances. I don't particularly like it, we're supposed to be a team, but this shouldn't make any difference, there's no need for them to know everything that has happened during my trip.
"You know who else hasn't been around?" Felix chimes in, and I know exactly what he's going to say. "Your girlfriend, Delphine."
I don't take the bait, instead I just look for the plates and take them to the living room, setting them on the table where we usually have our meals.
"I heard some of the staff comment that she went to France, visiting family or whatever," Felix continues, following me out of the kitchen. "You don't seem surprised by this," he implies when I say nothing.
"She's about to get married," I finally reply casually. "I'd say that's pretty normal behavior."
"Yeah…maybe she went there to deliver some of the invitations," he continues to test me.
I don't tell him that not only don't they have a date yet, but also that it's highly unlikely that Delphine has anyone to invite to her supposed wedding. Nor do I tell him that the chances of said wedding actually happening are zero to none. Let him assume whatever he wants, if I took anything from the time I spent with Delphine is that she has no intention whatsoever to go through with the wedding. The problem with Delphine is I don't know what her actual intentions are.
Felix calms down after that, the most effective way to shut him up is to ignore his attempts at bickering. He's fairly easy to deal with, but Sarah is an entirely different story. She's much more perceptive and is more than capable at reading into my silence. Several times I catch her looking at me with a curious expression. She could think that I'm just too tired to bother to answer Felix, but I'm not about to underestimate her ability to interpret what is happening around her.
Felix is out the door first, but Sarah lingers for a bit and I wonder if she's going to take our time alone to question me further, get more information now that Felix is out of earshot. I'm surprised when all she does is pull me to a tight hug, an awkward display of physical affection that is completely out of character for her.
"It's really good to have you back," she murmurs into my hair.
"Wow! Felix must've really driven you nuts in these few days," I comment with a smile when just as quickly she pushes me away.
"You have no fucking idea!" She throws over her shoulder before she leaves.
It takes longer than I thought for Daniel to call me to meet him. It's mid afternoon and I'm snoozing on the couch, trying to sleep away the jet lag, when the house phone rings, and Alfred is summoning me to his office.
He greets me with a firm handshake, his serious gaze holding my stare for a few seconds and after a short pause, he lets go of my hand, moving around the imposing desk and motioning to take a seat as he does the same. He's not as affable as he use to be, his semblance is serious, business like.
"I'm glad to have you back, Cosima," he starts, picking up a silver fountain pen and twirling it in his fingers. His expression hasn't lost any of its seriousness despite his friendly words.
"I'm happy to be back," I reply, matching his somber expression.
"Of course now that you're back, I expect you to catch up with the backlog from the days you were out," he comments in a detached way, his mind is clearly elsewhere, held hostage by other concerns.
Daniel looks like he has some sleep to catch up, heavy bags under his tired eyes, his shirt not as impeccably pressed as normal, the top button undone, his tie loose around his neck. I was away but a few days and yet he appears to have been through a full year of hardship.
"Sure, no problem," I say, nodding my head slowly, crossing my legs and placing my hands on my lap, interlacing my fingers to keep from fidgeting, adopting a clam posture.
"I want you to pay especially close attention to my brother's communications," Daniel says in a low voice, his gaze dropping to the desk.
"Should I look for anything specific?" I ask, slightly surprised by his request.
"No, no… just to look carefully," he answers and then clears his throat. "Now…" Daniel restarts, clasping his hands together and raising his eyes to me again, "what can you tell me about our Mr. Baczkowski?"
My tone remains dispassionate as I describe my findings. I leave out Delphine's assist, of course, as well as the shelter Ms. S's contact provided, I never mention that I had in my possession Oskar's notes or that I met the journalist only hours before he was assassinated. I keep my methods to myself, but I do tell him all that I've gathered. Mariusz's connection with the Russian Mob, how he's used as a front to do business with governments and private companies throughout former Soviet countries in the behalf of at least one criminal organization. I explain to Daniel that Baczkowski's former business partner has found his way to the wrong end of a sniper's bullet and that it has attracted quite a lot of international attention due to his high profile. I even reveal that said partnership, most likely, involved the smuggling of weapons into a country under an arms embargo by the international community.
As I talk Daniel is silent, his expression serene. He doesn't bother to pretend to be shocked by these revelations, and that only reinforces Delphine's theory that this is not new information to him. Even so, as I see him in front of me so calm, I suspect that while Delphine was on the right track, she's barely scratched the surface. For instance, it would be interesting to know how Daniel had access to this information in the first place. Perhaps the explanation is as simple as Mariusz advertising it when he proposed a partnership, to prove his reputation, promoting his good connections.
"Of course you already knew all of this," I wing it and my interlocutor remains impassive. "If you want to know, this sort of information was not easily acquired."
At this he leans back on his chair and smiles a little. "I don't suppose you're willing to share with me how you got it," he prompts.
"I prefer to keep the secrets of my trade secret," I say, shaking my head and hoping he doesn't push it. "But I can tell you that Baczkowski, or whoever he's working for is very well connected. At one point, I had the Polish authorities after me, along with some mobsters. Which reminds me…" I continue, showing him cold smile that I hope doesn't reveal my disdain for his tactics, "I'd very much appreciate that the next time you speak to him, you tell him to clear my name."
"Of course," Daniel nods his head as he passes his fingers through his dark, thick curls. "I hope you understand why I had to take such measures. You see… one cannot be too careful." He raises both his hands in an half-heartedly apologizing gesture. "I needed to know how far they're willing to go to preserve their assets. Besides, this was also an opportunity for me to see how well you manage under pressure."
"I could've been killed," I say, but keep my voice low, my temper in check. "Next time you think of sending me in a suicide mission… don't!" I state firmly nonetheless, because, while I'm not interested in raising any suspicions or break the trust I've gained, I also must show him that this behavior is unacceptable.
"Not to worry, Cosima," he says, giving me a comprehensive smile. "This was a one time situation. If everything goes according to plan, the next time you meet them, you'll be on the same side."
I raise a brow. "What makes you think there's going to be a next time?" I ask, already assuming his answer.
"I want you to arrange for Mr. Baczkowski and some of his… friends to come over. We need to discuss the last details of our new business venture and that must happen face-to-face," Daniel says and I can see that he's carefully judging my reaction to this.
"You want them to come here?" I simply ask. I won't address the fact that he's about to get in bed with organized crime, I don't give him reason to suspect my loyalty.
"Oh… no, no, no…" he chuckles and seems happy by my practical approach. "Not the Estate. Either New York or New Jersey. Someplace that won't attract attention and close to a private airport. They'll organize transportation, the rest is up to us and I'm leaving all the arrangements to you."
"I can do that, sure, but…" I pretend to hesitate when, in fact, I know exactly what I want to say, but I need him to continue to believe that I don't have an immediate reflexive response to these situations.
Don't put yourself in a disadvantageous position, always bring a partner if possible, Ms. S has advised us since the beginning. I've made that mistake once already with Daniel, I might've underrated his ability to be cunning before, but I'm not about to give him that benefit again.
"Go on!" He encourages, playing into my hand.
"Sarah is the head of the security team," I say, keeping my words slow and thoughtful in tone. "She's more adept at this sort of responsibility. You should talk with her, put a team together to go with you to the meeting."
"I don't trust Sarah," he says firmly, stubbornly, "I trust you!"
"I can go, that's not a problem. But she needs to be there as well," I insist. "She's really good with the tactical aspects, she'll keep you safe and she doesn't need to know what the meeting is about."
"You vouch for her?" He asks, intrigued by my suggestion at least.
"I do!" I answer without pause. "I've worked with her for years, she's good and, although it doesn't always look like it, she can keep a low profile. You've hired an entire team, Daniel, why not take full advantage of it?" I continue to persuade him.
"Very well," Daniel agrees after some time. "I'll talk with her at the end of the day."
It's true that Sarah is good at what she does, in fact, the best I know and that she's the best option in these sort of situations. But my motivations don't end there. I have very little interest in going to meet a bunch of Russian mobsters all by myself, without any backup. If my trip to Poland is anything to go by, this can derail very fast. I'm perfectly aware that if it wasn't for Delphine I wouldn't have made it out of Warsaw in one piece. Unfortunately, I suspect that suggesting Daniel to bring his fiancé with me might not be the best move. So Sarah it is.