Confusion flickered briefly across Mikhail and Viktor’s faces, and I leaned back a little further in my chair. I knew I was not making much sense to either of them, but this was my decision in the end. I knew exactly what I was doing, even though it looked like a death trap on the surface.
“They need confirmation,” I continued. “And I want them to know that Elisse is alive, untouched, and unharmed. That will keep them at ease and will keep them pursuing Elisse.”
“And if their pursuit escalates into a war-like scenario?” Viktor asked.
“It will. Undoubtedly. ”
“Do you think they will go ahead and do it publicly?”
“No.” I shook my head.
“You are right. They’ll probe first like they are doing already,” Mikhail added. “It seems as if they are testing response time and their own limits of how far they can go without it being too far in the name of a public declaration of war.”
“Good,” I said as two pairs of eyes fixed on me.
“We will not hide,” I clarified. “We will only reinforce our own security. I want them to feel they are onto us, and I want them to know whatever it is they need to know simultaneously. However, I do not want them to be able to reach us in any way possible. Not until the very end at least.”
“And what about Kliment?” Viktor asked carefully.
“He’s been informed.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
I met his gaze.
“Kliment does not dictate this operation; I do.”
Silence settled over the table, and they all understood exactly what that meant. This was mine and mine alone, and I was not going to sit down and take orders from others when it came to it. The teams were mine, and the intelligence was mine too, hence the decisions were going to be mine as well.
“Elisse Romanov remains in the penthouse and will remain here,” I said deliberately, using her new name with precision. “Which means security is to be increased without making it visible. She is not to feel like a hostage, but she should not be able to get out, and no one should be able to get in.”
Viktor’s jaw flexed faintly. “From what I can tell, she already feels like a hostage here, and you cannot blame her for that, Fyodor.”
“I am aware of how and what my wife feels, Viktor. I don’t need you to tell me that.”
“Do we restrict her movements any further?”
“No.”
“Phone?”
“Still secured.”
Mikhail hesitated. “If Chernykhs trace her signal loss, they’ll assume coercion.”
“They already assume it.”
“Then why not just restore it and let it be?”
“Because timing matters, and it is too soon right now.”
The room went quiet again.
“We push controlled leaks,” I continued. “But we will do it discreetly and only through channels we know that they monitor. I want them to have a wedding confirmation and, if necessary, any legal documentation pertaining to it. In fact, let’s push forward some photographic proof as well if necessary.
Mikhail nodded slowly. “You want them angry, but not desperate to know if she is safe and alive. Are we trying to frame it as she is here out of her own will, because that can be done as well?”
“Yes and no. I don’t care what they think; let them come to their own conclusions regarding the matter. We must only focus on the news getting to them.”