Trigger point

[Ascendancy]

Arms crossed, Nikolai leaned back in his chair like a man on the throne. Two known gods; one serving at his very table. It was a subtle shake to his confidence to protect himself. Atharim aside, his enemies would stop nothing to see him assassinated. Foolish enemies, as Nikolai's reign brought only prosperity and peace, but the hate of anarchists, madmen and imbeciles was never rational. Guns, knives and poison could be screened, but the burden of watching waiters with the ability to kill fell entirely on Nikolai's shoulders. Ruling half the world occupied enough of his focus; now, his guard could never lower, not even so much as while eating a meal.

He noted Pyotr's name on his workstation. A brief search revealed the man's photograph, which of course Nikolai recognized. This was the thoughtful young man that researched the wine for the table. Nik swiped the information aside. He'd send it to Michael and Alric later. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. As to your brother, do you think he would be open to recruitment? You left your country behind, after all. I could use someone like him on our police forces."
He could look Andre up as he had Pyotr, but Marcus' insight into his brother was more valuable than an analytics reveal. Call Nikolai old-fashioned, but he trusted his own intuition over that of technology.