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“He’s with the higher-ups now, who will, without a doubt, put the blame on him for the mission’s failure, when it’s clear that it was plotted all along. It doesn’t matter what he might have done, he was set up for failure from the get-go. Those stupid fuckers planned all this.” “Shut it.” Yuri kicks his friend in the shin, and the latter howls. “What the fuck was that for? I’m telling the truth here. Sasha deserves to know why he took that bullet.” I stare between them, grabbing for a sliver of information. “What’s going on?” “Remember the fat man who came on the day of the mission?” Maksim asks. “Captain’s father?” “That’s the one. He’s always wanted Boss back in New York and has been trying to get him to discharge from the military for years. Since he failed and most of us chose to stay with the boss, what do you think his next course of action would be?” “Try to force him.” He snaps his fingers. “Exactly.” “We don’t know for sure.” Yuri lowers his voice. “But it’s true that the old