113|Can No Longer Be Trusted

After the meeting, Austin asked his father to stay behind; he had a few urgent matters to discuss with him.

"What's this about?" Lukas asked as soon as the last of their men dropped off the call. "Don't tell me there's more to the mess with the Ivanovs!"

There certainly was more with Nikolai, but Friar John was a far more pressing concern for Austin.

"It's not the Ivanovs," he told his father. "It’s your consigliere."

Lukas leaned back on his Chesterfield couch and crossed his legs, his gaze steady as he stared back at Austin through the screen, "John? What's the matter with him?"

Ignoring his father's question, Austin proceeded with his own fact-finding mission, "I know you two go way back, but how exactly did you meet? And how well do you know him?"

Lukas seemed taken aback by his question, but he took a moment to mull it over before replying, "We met in '89. Back when I thought abalone trading was good business."

"So you know about his past life as a game ranger, then?" asked Austi