Chapter 23: Crossroads

April

              I take out my lockpicking tools and work on the lockbox. Within minutes, I get it open. Micah, Gideon and Connor surround me, their expressions rife with curiosity. A smile curves my lips when I see that the box is not empty. I will admit that for a moment there, I felt nervous that there would be nothing inside. As carefully as I can, I remove each article. The box contains a small address book and several documents inside. I  take the notebook out and sort through its yellowed and smudged pages. But I quickly learn that whatever is written inside is in another language.         “I think it’s in Russian,” I hand the book to Micah before I reach for the documents. Some of the documents are bank statements, and the others look like purchase orders from foreign companies. My eyes widen with recognition of the names beneath the company lo