Vladimir smiled with cruelty. The Master had tried to foil their plan many times. Since Julian's arrest, Ryzdul became nearly obsessed with capturing the Master. They tried often to locate him or access his files, but the European Community kept his files in absolute secrecy. Thus, they didn't know the Master's real name. With Julian, Iain, and Vallen, Vladimir determined how to proceed and he became annoyed with his partners who only wished to grab their sex toys. As for Vladimir, his only goal was to capture the Master and bring him to Ryzdul. Derek would be an asset to help Vladimir obtain information from the Master. Thus, Vladimir decided to join Julian and wait for Derek's return. Luck was on Vlad's side, as Derek showed up sooner than they had expected. Vladimir ordered Derek to call the Master, otherwise Derek's brother would be beaten. Derek dutifully obeyed, and after that Vlad strangled Derek slowly. Even though Derek didn't beg for his life, Vlad knew he would when the actual pain began. Then Vlad would stop worrying about producing visible marks of torture and would only focus on causing pain at the place Ryzdul prepared for the Master. Lost in sweet thoughts, Vlad almost forgot where he was when the door opened and the Master finally appeared in front of him. For the first time, Vladimir smiled as he watched the surprise on the Master's face when he recognized Vladimir. No one would expect that would come to Canada to get involved in a mission like this one.

"It's a pleasure to meet you in person after all these years, Master," Vladimir said, kneeling near Derek to push his gun threateningly against his head.

This is the second of three books in the Master of Criminals series.