The individual Chen's facial recognition had flagged was intercepted by FBI at Penn Station three hours after the ceremony, carrying nothing suspicious except a notebook filled with Louis's published articles and annotated with observations that bordered on obsessive research. His name was Dmitri Kozlov Jr.—nephew of the deceased oligarch, previously unknown to intelligence agencies tracking network remnants.
"He claims he wanted to congratulate you," Chen reported via secure video call after Ral and Louis returned to Portland. "Says his uncle's death freed him from family obligations and he wanted to thank the journalist who exposed corruption that destroyed his family's reputation but also liberated him from participating in criminal enterprise."
"You believe him?" Louis asked skeptica
