For a second, Gonda said nothing.
The name was simple, but the meaning behind it was not.
He rose from his chair without realizing he had done it. Merek looked up immediately. Solan did the same. Both men had worked around Gonda long enough to know one thing well: he did not rise for just anyone.
That was why the silence in the room changed at once.
Even without hearing both sides of the call, they understood something unusual was happening.
Gonda kept his voice level.
"Mister Wil," he said, "I would like to meet you."
Adam cut that down before the sentence had time to settle.
"You misunderstand the situation," he said. "Urgency does not belong to me. It belongs to you."
That line hit Gonda harder than he showed.
His jaw tightened, but he said nothing at first.
Adam continued.
"I made the first arrangement through Bruno. I know what he told you, and I know what he did not tell you. We are aware of your district, your people, and your current situation. If you can be useful to our purpose, then you are welcome. If not, your ending will reveal itself soon enough."
The words were calm.
That made them worse.
Merek shifted where he stood, clearly unsettled by the tone coming through the phone. Solan's face stayed flatter, but he kept watching Gonda more carefully now. Neither of them had heard their boss speak this politely to anyone outside a position of advantage.
'Who is this man that Boss is listening instead of interrupting?' Merek thought.
Gonda heard every word and felt anger push against his chest.
In another situation, he would have already ended the call.
But this was not another situation.
The meeting from the previous day remained too close in his mind. He could still see the faces around that table, still hear the way even men had gone quiet when the wiped-out gang was mentioned. No one had proved anything. That was exactly what made it worse. Fear had spread without proof and still managed to bend the room.
If Wil truly belonged to the same force behind all those rumors, then Gonda could not afford another enemy.
Not now.
He let a long breath out through his nose.
"Then let me say it clearly," Gonda said. "I want to work with your organization. You've already heard the same thing from others, I'm sure. I want my district working with you as an allied line."
Adam said nothing for a moment.
That silence irritated Gonda more than a direct insult would have.
Still, he endured it.
Inside his head, other thoughts were already moving.
If this Wil was real, then staying near him had benefits: money, weapons, information, and influence that did not belong to any local gang. Even if Gonda never fully trusted him, taking that kind of help before anyone else did would still strengthen his position.
Then Gonda could still learn from the connection before crushing it.
That was how he had climbed this far. Not by rushing first, but by deciding when patience paid more than violence.
The voice on the other end finally returned.
"I have conditions," Adam said.
Gonda's grip tightened on the phone.
Of course he did.
But that was still better than refusal.
"Then tell me now," Gonda said.
Adam answered immediately.
"Before anything else, Bruno remains the bridge between us."
That broke Gonda's control for the first time.
"No," he said at once.
Merek and Solan both looked at him. The refusal had come too fast.
Gonda caught himself and lowered his voice again, but the anger was already there.
"That man has already crossed lines inside my house," he said. "You know that."
Adam did not sound impressed.
"I know exactly what he did," he said. "I am not asking you to forgive him."
Then his tone sharpened.
"I am saying he stays."
Gonda's eyes narrowed.
This time he did not answer at once.
Inside, however, his thoughts were moving fast.
His first instinct had been simple: use Wil, squeeze what could be gained, and remove Bruno as soon as the path was clear. That was still possible later. But if Bruno really had become the first point of contact between the two sides, then keeping him alive a little longer might not actually be a loss.
Bruno was already compromised.
That made him useful.
If Bruno stayed in the middle, then he could be watched from both directions. He could carry messages and die later if needed. In truth, that might be better than killing him too early and cutting off a line Gonda had only just managed to open.
Adam kept speaking while Gonda thought.
"Bruno was our first local preference," he said. "We have already spent time through him. We know his habits, and the shape of your side around him. Removing him too early causes losses on our side."
That part was mostly lie.
But it was the right kind of lie.
"I am not telling you to keep him forever," Adam continued. "I am telling you to keep him in place until our trust in you is complete. When that changes, what you do to him is your choice. We will not interfere."
That landed better.
Gonda heard the real meaning inside it. Bruno was not being protected. He was being kept as a tool.
And tools could be discarded later.
That made the condition easier to swallow.
Merek finally spoke in a low voice once Gonda lowered the phone slightly from his ear.
"Boss?"
Gonda ignored him for another second.
Then he returned the phone fully to his ear and said, "Fine. For now, he stays as the bridge."
Adam did not thank him.
He simply accepted it as though the outcome had always belonged to him.
"Good," he said.
Gonda hated how natural that sounded.
Still, he had already decided the first condition could work in his favor. Bruno could remain alive, carry the pressure, and serve as a testing point until Gonda knew more.
What mattered was the next demand.
He steadied his voice again and said, "Then tell me the second condition."