"Drop the disks," Anna said, and she never looked back as she stepped away from the café table. "You're sure?" Alexei asked, voice low. He kept his hand flat on the table, fingers close to his phone. He had that waiting posture that meant a deal or a betrayal could happen in the next blink. "Positive," Anna said. She set two slim drives on the saucer between them and pushed them forward with one finger. "No copies. No backdoors." Len smirked like he owned the bench. "You hand those over, and you walk. No more Olga breathing down your neck." Anna smiled. It wasn't soft. It was an arrangement of teeth that left no doubt who was in charge. "You think you can buy my life with a threat?" she asked. "You think either of you own me?" Alexei's hand flexed, color rising at the word "own." "I recruited you. I protected you. Don't forget who paid for your surgical fixes." Len shrugged. "Protecting you was a business decision. You're asset-rich and liability-poor. You do the right moves and you collect your freedom." Anna leaned forward. "I gave both of you what you wanted. Now step back and stop bargaining." Alexei's mouth opened. He started a sentence and Anna cut him off with a single motion. She slapped his hand, hard, right across the knuckles where he had been poised to snatch the drives. "You..." Alexei snapped. He stared at his hand