In Bad Faith

Chapter 70

I was nervous. Tonight was the third and last night I'd be able to spend at Misha's apartment. Not only since Floyd had casually told me he'd be checking in on me every night from now on, starting tomorrow, but also since Maddison was returning home in about twenty-four hours. Both of those things felt wrong. But they weren't the reason I was nervous right now. No, Sergio arrived in New York this late afternoon after a seven-and-a-half-hour flight and was about to come over, so Misha could tell him what he was in for. I'd been preparing for the worst. Sergio Alvarez had not seemed like an easygoing guy.

I was by myself, sitting at the same table I sat at with Misha the day before yesterday to discuss this whole situation for the first time, while he was picking up Sergio downstairs. This time we gathered all important documents and put them in a file that was now lying closed on the wooden surface, to keep everything together and not scare Sergio as soon as he walked in. Misha had told me a little more about him, and apparently, he was not one to be messed with. He was working closely with a notorious Mexican drug cartel which couldn't mean any good, and allegedly he could read people like books. And this particular man was about to find out he was going to have to flee his country because of me being an undercover FBI agent. Of course I was nervous.

Misha hadn't told Sergio anything yet when he told him to come to New York right away. He told him it was very urgent, so the man probably had an idea that it wasn't going to be any good. But he didn't tell him that it had anything to do with me. He didn't even know I would be here for this meeting. All because we wanted him to keep his cool for as long as possible. If he knew in advance, he would never agree to have a meeting with me present. Who knows what he would've done.

The sound of two male voices sounding in the distance followed by the sound of a door shutting closed grabbed my attention, and I immediately felt my heartbeat starting to pick up speed. Okay, this was it. Yet another, but crucial step in this twisted plan. Because if this went wrong and Sergio would refuse to trust or work with me, it could still ruin everything. And this man already hadn't trusted me since the first time we'd met. I knew this was going to be a challenge. But even Sergio Alvarez wasn't going to make me back down that easily. I was willing to fight.

I sat up straight in my chair, and after I saw the two men making their way into the dining area, I immediately saw the smile disappear off Alvarez's face when his eyes fell on me. This time he was wearing his casual clothes, showing even more tattoos on his exposed arms. And contrary to him, I did smile while I looked at him. "Good evening, Mr. Alvarez, how was your flight?" I asked him in a friendly tone, not letting any of my nerves show. I've dealt with enough tough guys during my career to also deal with him.

But instead of answering me, he turned his head to Misha. "Seriously?" he asked him with an agitated tone of voice, after which he started swearing under his breath, in Spanish. I had no idea what he was saying, but it didn't sound too friendly. Misha just let him go off for a second. "What is she doing here," Sergio followed, still speaking to Misha. I scraped my throat to let him know I was in fact still sitting there, but he didn't seem to care. "I'll explain. Now take a seat," Misha answered, staying composed this whole time. Sergio briefly looked at the chair Misha gestured to, after which he looked back at him. "When is she leaving?" he then asked.

"She's not," Misha answered, walking to my side of the table, to then gesture to the chair on the opposite side where Sergio was still standing, dumbfounded. "I assume all of your devices are turned off?" he followed. Sergio looked at me for a second, and then back at Misha. He must've been confused about Misha talking about this with me in the room, and I didn't blame him. But if he just cooperated now, he would find out soon enough. "Of course they are," he scoffed at Misha, after which he grabbed the backrest of the chair to pull it away from the table. "I don't know what the fuck is going on here, but I hope you're going to tell me real soon, Zaveri," he followed, frustrated, as he sat down.