“I’m not interested in all those people.” Alex lowered her voice. “This is about Vitali.”
“Because of personal vengeance or hurt vanity?”
“No! This man kills people who stand in his way. I know it! With my own ears, I heard someone tell him that David Zuckerman had been silenced.”
Nick looked at her pensively; then he put his cutlery down.
“Okay,” he said in a sober voice, “let me explain to you how this would work. I hand this material over to the US Attorney’s Office or the FBI. They investigate and possibly conclude that there’s something to it. Vitali is arrested, but thanks to his connections, he’s most likely released on bail. If charges are actually brought against him, then you’d be the main witness for the prosecution.”
Alex swallowed nervously.
“This would not be the first time we thought we had enough evidence to take down Vitali. But our witnesses always failed us. Some of them lost their memory overnight, and others disappeared without a trace. Sometimes they were found again in a landfill or floating in the river. Vitali is merciless. Would you want to live with a new identity somewhere in the Midwest for the rest of your life, constantly in fear that one day they’ll find you?”
He shook his head.
“In the past, I would have done anything to get to Vitali. Today, I doubt whether something could be right if it costs a person’s life.”
Alex licked her dry lips.
“What would you do in my position, Nick?” she whispered. “I can’t go on like this. I’m scared of him, but I still want him to be brought to justice.”
Nick stared at her.
“You’re very brave. And intelligent. I admire that about you.”
“No I’m not. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have fallen for Vitali.”
“Many other women would fall for him, too,” Nick said. “He’s good looking, charming, and incredibly rich.”
“Oh yes,” she said and laughed bitterly. “He reserved the entire Crows Nest at the Water Club for one evening—the whole staff, and a band.”
“Did you love him?”
Alex hesitated, surprised by this very personal question.
“No,” she said slowly, “it wasn’t love. I was impressed and flattered that such a powerful, famous man was courting me. I aspired to become one of the city’s famous and powerful people, and I thought that I could accomplish that through him. How could I have known that I was only a small cog in the wheel of his dirty business?”
“Are you still in contact with him?”
“Do you mean, do I still sleep with him?”
“No.” Nick blushed slightly. “I…I didn’t mean it that way.”
“He asked me to marry him the last time I saw him.” Alex’s face hardened. “Most likely because he’s afraid he won’t be able to bring in those lucrative deals anymore. I moved out of the apartment he rented to me. A friend signed a new lease for me in his name, and since then, I have been afraid that Vitali will find out where I live. I change trains three times in the subway and sneak out of the building through the back. He knows that I was with you at the cemetery. The man who tried to shoot you recognized me.”
Nick looked alarmed. “Did he tell you that?”
“His wife came over to my place to warn me,” she replied. “She left him because she’s convinced that Vitali ordered the death of his own son.”
“Vitali’s wife came to you?” Nick asked in disbelief.
“Yes. She hates him and wants revenge. And she’d like to talk to you, Nick.”
“You’re in great danger, Alex.”
“I know. But he won’t touch me as long as I’m coordinating his dirty business. But once he no longer needs me…” She fell silent.
“I can arrange personal security for you,” Nick offered. “Where do you live now?”
“On Reade Street. Just around the corner.” Alex ate a bite from her already cold kabob, although her stomach felt sealed shut. “Personal protection is unnecessary; I work at a company that he largely owns.”
When the waiter came to clear the table, Nick had hardly eaten anything. He handled a piece of bread, lost in thought.
“Do you know why I don’t want to pass on this information?” he asked in a throaty voice. “I’m afraid that Vitali will hurt you.”
On their way out, they saw that the restaurant had filled up since their arrival. The four bodyguards were waiting for them at the street corner.
“Isn’t it better if I have someone drive you home?” Nick asked, and Alex detected true concern in his eyes.
“No, it’s okay. It’s so close.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. It’s better if I use my secret paths.”
“I’m worried about you, Alex.”
“I’m really in hot water, aren’t I?”
Nick looked at her with a grave expression.
“Yes, I’m afraid so.”
She dug both her hands into her jacket pockets. “Would you pass the information against Vitali on to the US Attorney’s Office if I quit my job and leave the city?”
“Is that what you’re planning to do?”
“I hardly have a choice.” Alex felt a painful lump in her throat. She was more aware of the hopelessness of her situation than ever before.
“Maybe you’re right,” Nick said and sighed. “I toyed with the idea of packing it all in myself. No one could blame you for it. Who the hell cares.”
Still standing outside the restaurant, they gazed at each other under the lantern’s dim light.
“I have to go,” she said. “Thank you, Nick, for the lovely evening.”
Nick extended his hand and she took it. Alex remembered how she had held him in her arms as he cried, and she fervently wished that she could stay with him a little longer. She didn’t care who he was, although it would have been much easier if he hadn’t been—of all people—the mayor of New York.
Alex let go of his hand, but he didn’t seem ready to leave either. Then she impulsively flung her arms around him and nestled her face against his rough cheek. They remained in a comforting embrace for a brief moment until another customer came out of the restaurant.
“Take care of yourself, Alex,” Nick whispered gruffly. She nodded silently and then turned around and disappeared with quick steps.
Wednesday, December 1, 2000
Vincent Levy’s face was grim as he hung up the phone. LMI’s board was anxiously awaiting their president’s explanation of just what had interrupted their extraordinary meeting on this rainy December afternoon. Levy looked around the group, and then he walked over to the large window. Everything seemed to shift in the hazy air. The Verrazano Bridge was just visible in the distance, and even the Statue of Liberty seemed farther away than usual. There was complete silence in the room as Levy turned around.
“Gentlemen,” he said, clearing his throat, “I’ve just learned that the acquisition of Database Inc. by Whithers Computers is off. Database has agreed to a friendly takeover by Softland Corporation. First Boston made the cut. We’re out.”
Everyone in the room was speechless as they stared at the president. The deal, worth almost two billion dollars—one of the biggest ever in the technology sector—seemed signed, sealed, and delivered long ago. The M&A department had been working on little else for weeks. St. John finally broke his board colleagues’ numb silence.
“That stupid bitch screwed it up!” he yelled. He banged his fist on the table with such force that the glasses and bottles rattled. “I could wring her neck!”
“What do you mean, Zack?” Hugh Weinberg asked in surprise.
“Just like I said!” Zack’s face turned bright red, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. “This was a surefire deal, but she was too stupid to seal it!”