The Romanov Ransom (Fargo Adventures 9)

The man turned back to the computer. “Imagine trying to explain what the Fargos were doing, stealing a van from your villa. Good thing the police don’t have access to the surveillance.”

“I told them the system’s been malfunctioning.” Rolfe moved away from the window, eyeing the monitor, recalling the sight of the catering van crashing through his gate. “The question now is, what to do about the Fargos?”

“I’d be more worried about your princess and what she plans on doing. Letting a kidnapped Russian agent escape might put a damper on your plans to go after the Fargos. Or anything else, for that matter.”

Gere cleared his throat, no doubt as a reminder that he was waiting. Rolfe glanced over at him, giving a dismissive wave. “I’m coming.”

Leopold waited until Gere left. “Almost done. What are you planning?” he asked.

“I’ve survived this long by having contingencies in place—several in non-extradition countries.”

“I assume you’re crossing Russia off that list?”

“Is that supposed to be amusing?”

“Very.” Leopold pushed away from the desk, then stood. “Your surveillance videos are erased.”

“One piece of evidence they can’t use against me.”

“So where are we going?” Leopold asked as they left the room and started down the stairs.

“I have private quarters just outside Berlin that can’t be traced to me. We’ll regroup there until it’s time to leave the country.”

“And then what?”

“Figure out where the Fargos are going next.” Not that he was about to tell Leopold everything. What he didn’t mention was that if he was forced to leave the country, he intended to use the Romanov Ransom to support his lifestyle. He wasn’t sure if Leopold planned to keep the portion Rolfe had promised him—the forty percent that was Tatiana’s—or if he planned to turn it over to the Wolf Guard. It mattered little. With Tatiana on the loose, law enforcement was sure to start closing in, and they needed to get out. “That key is the clue to the third tin. Since we failed to get it back, I’m open to ideas.”

“For sixty percent,” Leopold said, “I’ll implement one.”

After tonight’s events, Rolfe was at a complete disadvantage, and he decided to make one last attempt to maintain his hold on the larger share. “You really think I would turn over sixty percent?”

“Assuming you want the Guard’s help, yes.”

Resisting the urge to pull out his gun and kill the man right there, Rolfe tried to think of a way to finish this hunt on his own. Nothing came to mind. Keeping his expression calm, he waved Leopold through the door.

When Gere saw them walking out, he hobbled forward, opening the back door for Rolfe, before sliding in behind the wheel and starting the car.

Leopold walked around to the other side and got in, his expression that of a man who knew he had the upper hand. “Do we have a deal?” he finally asked once they took off.

“That depends on how you plan to accomplish this.”

“Easy. We do to one of the agents what the Russian princess said they were doing to the old man.”

Rolfe looked over at him.

“You recall how she said she threatened the old man’s family to get cooperation?”

“Clearly, it was a ruse.”

“Yes, but in our case, it won’t be,” Leopold said. “My men have been following the two agents since we spotted them in Wroclaw.”

“That means you know where Tatiana is. We can stop her.”

“The last thing you want is to stop her. As long as she and the Fargos believe they’re safe, they’ll discover what that key is for and find that third tin.”

It took a moment for Rolfe to put aside his anger so that he could concentrate on what Leopold was proposing. “We sit back and wait. What does that do for us?”

“The woman’s in our pocket.”