“Oh, I'm so sorry, so sorry.”
“Freaking country... Freaking women...” I heard him murmur.
“Well, Antipov-san—oh, I'm sorry—let me introduce you... to my business partner, Sakurai Shinji-kun.”
“Used with your Japanese names, it does not sound so stupid,” the man said, looking at me. “What, you couldn't find a partner a little older?”
“Only enemies, Antipov-san. Unfortunately, only enemies.”
“You have a sad life, lady.”
“At least I have one,” Akemi answered.
“Heh, according to my information, not for long.”
How interesting. And where did you get such information from?
“Mmm, Akemi?” I looked inquiringly at the woman.
“Yes, I have four weasels,” she answered, still in Russian, apparently, suggesting me to switch to it too. “I fed them, watered them, raised them, even paid them money. Look what I got in return.”
I don't get it. She looks too frivolous, given that her CLOSEST assistants leak information.
“Start from the very beginning. I can't understand whom you want me to kill,” I said in Russian.
“What a combative fellow,” the Russian grinned. “He can speak our language too.”
“Oh, leave it, Shinji,” Akemi waved her hand. “I'll think of something so that these traitors don't continue believing that life is all wine and roses.”
“You should go home, boy. This business is clearly outside your age range. Why did you even call him?” He turned to the girl.
“If you want to participate in the future mayhem, you have to obey him.”
“What?” Antipov did not understand. I didn't either.
“Shinji, I'm giving you fifteen Russian thugs.”
“What!?” The man stood up, then fell back in his chair and snickered. “And who will make us obey?”
“No one will make you. If you don't hit where you're told, you’re interfering,” Akemi replied. “But you did not come here for this, did you?”
I think I'll explode now.
“Akemi,” I began, “have you completely lost the fear of God?”
“Huh?”
“I don't understand anything. And when this happens, I start to get nervous.”
“Even kids get nervous here,” remarked Antipov.
“What happened when I was like this last time?” I asked her, ignoring the man. Akemi's expression began to change gradually—from surprised to pensive, to serious, to nervous.
I went to kill the Hindu Master to erase every hint that pointed to the fact that I was a Patriarch. Now I could easily finish off Akemi’s assistants, who had leaked information to the wrong people.
“So? Is there something you haven't told me?”
Antipov was carefully looking at her face. Needless to say, he couldn’t know that he was very close to dying, so he just sat and waited silently for something to happen.
“Hmmm... yes... From the very beginning,” she scratched her nose. “Serge... was a friend and colleague of Antipov-san and, as I understood, asked him to help me. But Serge... is dead now. Anyway, I don't need this help and can deal with my problems myself. I don't want to attract strangers from abroad. The only thing is that Dzuno and the company decided to bypass me and asked for help. The bastards knew that I would forbid them. These Russians, Shinji, were very close friends of Serge, and they,” she glanced at the man, “will not do anything that will harm me. I know that for sure. Therefore, we have come to a dilemma. On the one hand, I do not want to accept his help. On the other, he isn't going to leave with nothing.”
“It is HIS help?” I asked, but didn’t hear her answer.
“She accuses me of his death,” Antipov broke the silence.
“He sacrificed everything for you! And you…” letting out a heavy sigh, Akemi turned away.
“We could not leave our post,” the man finished. “Had we done that, his sacrifice would have been in vain. But if we had known what it was going to lead to...”
He was straightforward as if he was in Mexico, not in Japan. I wasn't going to clarify what kind of sacrifice that was. It wasn’t the right moment. By the way, as far as I remember, Knightov was Special Forces.
“Umm... Kirill Romanovich, can I ask you where you served? And what your title was? And your rank, if it’s not a secret?”
“Captain VRA,” he answered. “I, like all my people, am a Veteran.”
That's the same as the Military Intelligence Agency. A noble one. Plus, fifteen Veterans. Hmm. Now I see why he's so brave.
“And what is your bloodline, if THAT’S not a secret either?” I asked.
“None. I'm a commoner,” he answered, wincing.
All right. A little better. That means he has a patron.
“Is it okay for you to be here right now? Your service and patronage, after all...”
“I'm on vacation. And I do not have a patron.”
He kept trying to make me lose my train of thought. It wasn’t possible for him not to have a patron. He was a Military Intelligence Agency captain, after all.
“What do you mean—you don't have one? What happened to Romanov?” Asked Akemi.
“He's dead. He died a couple of months ago,” the captain replied grimly. “So I have to serve until the end of the contract, that is, a month. After that, I'll be reserve, for life.”
In Russia, an officer's post is limited. There are more officers than there are posts for them, despite the fact that their total number is the same as in most large countries of the world. In Russia, as in India, Japan, and the US, there are excessive posts, and many officers are kept in reserve. That is, they are still considered in the service, they even receive a salary, which is lower, because they don’t do anything, just sit at home. As far as I knew, one could easily leave the service from the reserve. But to be an officer, even without a post, is prestigious, that's why there are so many officer-aristocrats roaming the country, doing what they want. Some start businesses, and some are involved in bloodline affairs.
So the captain, who is a commoner without a patron, is highly likely going to be sent to the reserves, freeing up the post for another thirsty nobleman. Well, it's a pity, of course, but not fatal.
“You can turn to the bloodline of your patron,” I said. “I don’t think they will miss the opportunity to get a captain of the Special Forces to join their guard.”
“They'll take me,” the man grinned, “but not my people. Fourteen souls who went there with me to fulfill Serge's request. Alex would have come too, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
My respect for him. It was very difficult to get into the bloodline guards—too much tied to the family—and not many would give up the opportunity for the sake of their people.
“Ahem. Okay, let's decide now how to solve this situation. To begin with, Akemi does not want to work with you, and you do not want to work with me. In general, I can understand that. Believe me, my age is often brought up in conversations. Now the question is, what will you do when it all starts? You, after all, will not even find out about it immediately.”
“But I will eventually,” the man said. “I will even say more, I already know everything I need, and I'm just waiting for the beginning of the war,” he grinned. “What I need is to inflict as much damage as possible on the target, that's all. I don't really need the consent or dissent of this woman.”
“I understand that somebody from our brave quartet gave you information?”
Hmmm, the guys are going to get it. I don't know what Akemi will do, but I'm for sure going to give them a good ass kicking.
“It's a secret,” Antipov said with a smile.
“Kirill, you do understand that the information received from the executives, though close to the authorities, cannot be complete?” Still grinning, he jerked his cheek. “And as a military man, you must be aware of what can happen if you interfere with our plans. Even with good intentions.”
“You overestima
te your strategic genius,” he began, not so confidently. “It's just a bandit assault.”
Easy, Max, calm down. He has every right to think so.
“It's you who overestimate us,” Akemi was not as patient as I.
“You, woman,” he said, “be quiet. You don't care about your people, and now you have the arrogance to blame others in stupidity.”
Akemi said nothing. My surprise at this even lessened my annoyance with the captain’s words. Now she was sitting with her lips pursed, twirling a glass of wine in her hands and staring at the wall.
Maybe that's why she called me? The female upbringing of this world and this country did not allow her to precipitate a conditional male ally. The brutal captain of the Special Forces, who surely went through many death fights. At such moments, I can’t help but admire her willpower and what she has achieved so far. Personally, I find it difficult to imagine all the difficulties that she has managed to overcome to get to her present status. I'm sure if it were not for Antipov's status, the hack and slash would have started long ago. As it is, a sixteen-year-old, not a man, is everything she can now count on.
She didn't want to start a conflict, so she put me in a position where she was supposed to be my woman and I needed to respond to attacks against her. In fact, I was now officially recognized as the elder in our group and in this conversation.
“Um, captain, how old are you?”
“What?”
“How old are you?”
“Thirty-seven,” he replied after a short pause.
He obviously didn't like the change in my tone, but either curiosity due to an unexpected shift in conversation, or something else made him answer my question.
“Thirty-seven years old...” I said pensively. “And what have you accomplished in life? This lady, for example, has managed to become one of Japan's strongest criminal bosses. A woman! She has hundreds of people subordinate to her, dozens of fighters. She uses her delicate hands to count hundreds of thousands of dollars...”
“Ahem,” I heard Akemi at this moment.
“Sorry. Millions of dollars. Many aristocrats, as well as other useful people, can be found among her acquaintances. Every notable person in Japan knows or has heard of her. What have you achieved? Being a commoner, you rose to the rank of captain. I'm impressed. Only recently you have lost your patronage, and now what? Who are you now?”
“What are you getting at, kid?” The man asked.
“I, captain, tend to believe that, at least for the sake of respect, you could address her not so rudely. She deserves that, dammit.”
Let's see now what you are, captain. Do you admit that you are wrong or not? If not, then we'll take a different approach in conversing with you. Not because I'm offended so much, but because it's useless to persuade and pressure such people. They are either stupid or stubborn.
“You're right,” he said after five seconds of staring at me, “I lost my temper. I'm sorry, Nakata,” he nodded to her and got a snort in response. “However, kid, I'm not going to obey a sucker like you, no offense.”
“Captain,” I sighed wearily, “if you start acting in isolation from us, it will be easier to just kill you. No offense.”
“Heh, kill... What's stopping you from just setting some goals for me?”
“There, that's closer to what will make everyone happy. Hmm. Did you bring your equipment with you?”
“Of course not. Who would let me cross the border with it? Or let me in here? But we certainly have some weapons.”
“In that case,” I said, rubbing my forehead, “you'd better get to my base.”
“What base? By the way, kid, I don't know anything about you.”
“I manage my own company—Shidotamoru. If that tells you anything. This company has its own security service. The security service has its own base. A range, barracks, dining room, sports center, warehouses, headquarters, and all that. Construction is not over yet, but it should be enough for your needs.”
“You said a shooting range? Barracks? That's a fancy security service you've got.”
“Yeah, I know. Although, it is still in its infancy. I'll equip you if needed, too. I do not promise a motorized infantry division, but I think you will not be disappointed.”
Antipov did not reply right away. He just sat there for a minute, thinking about something.
“The equipment would be good. Just don’t forget—we do not obey you. You give us a target, and we eliminate it. On our own. I will not tolerate any interference on your part.”
“Of course, of course,” I raised my hands in a defensive gesture.
It seems that he has finally begun to take me seriously. But this is only the beginning. Let's see what he says when he meets Svyatov and Kuroda. One thing is he has to deal with a teenager, but this teenager has money, and the cherry on top is that this teenager comes in a package with a fighting detachment and two war dogs. Even though the squad consists of beginners, and Kuroda is the dog of city wars, it’s still pretty impressive. The only drawback is that these Russians are on the radar. I ought to think of a good legend.
“All right,” Antipov said, slamming his hands on the armrests of his chair. “Enough dawdling over it. I'll go to my people and tell them to start getting ready.”
Waiting until the man had left the room, I turned to Akemi.
“You know, beautiful, I'm starting to worry more and more every day. In fact, it's not so difficult to learn about our arrangement,” I said, looking at the door as the captain walked out.
“Only if you really want to,” she said. “However, our future unwitting assistants shouldn’t really care.”
“Don't you have enough enemies? Those who may tell them things.”
“There will be no evidence.”
“Don’t you find your own words funny?”
“We don't have much choice anyway,” she sighed. “Even if we can do it without any help, then bosses who do not participate in the war will absorb what’s left of my forces.”
“When you came up with your plan, you didn’t take into account the Russians or me. Right?” I got her nod and continued. “Briefly outline the alignment of forces for me. I'm ashamed to say, I still didn’t consider this point.”
“Briefly?” Akemi thought for a moment. “Cumulatively, the supposed enemy will have about two thousand fighters. Of these, twenty-six are Veterans and sixty-six are Warriors. True, their forces, as you understand, are not centered in one place, but are scattered all over the prefecture. Unfortunately, I have the same situation. I'm not worried about soldiers as much as Veterans and Warriors, who will be quickly gathered in one place after the start of the war or rather sooner. Oh yes, now four more Veterans are running free, and they are unlikely to join us. Most likely, they will join those who will not get involved in the war, but that'll be pure luck.”
“And what have you got?”
“Seven hundred fighters. Of these, seven are Veterans and twenty-nine are Warriors.”
Yes, there won’t be problems with soldiers. I doubt that the local authorities will set aside such a large number of people to play in this war. But all the rest ... hmmm. If we just fought, us against them, that would be easier. But war is war, and it requires resources: warehouses, shops, bars, casinos, and so on. There are also classy places, such as a popular casino downtown or a small temple on the outskirts. No one is going to destroy anything there, but it'd be easy to take control of them. Those can be some clear goals.
“It turns out, together with the Russians and me, we have twenty-four Veterans, about ninety Warriors, and one Master.”
“Wait, a Master?” The woman was surprised.
“Svyatov is a Master.”
“Svyatov?”
“Cripes,” I didn't feel like explaining. “One of my officers. I recently hired him.”
Yeah, I forgot to tell her about Svyatov or about his rank. On the other hand, why should I? The fact that I told her about a bunch of Warriors is pretty significant
. In the end, I will make all our plans. More precisely, she will only defend, and I will only attack. By the way, it turns out that the Garagarahabi, which includes fourteen guilds—each with approximately one hundred and fifty Warriors and fifty Veterans—has more than two thousand fighters with the rank of Warrior and, damn it, seven hundred Veterans. I don't even know about Masters. After all, these are the forces of a small clan. Only in quantity, though, and the calculation itself is very approximate. And although the guilds were alienated, you can be sure that if they fear an external threat, they will very quickly come together in one force. Actually, that's why Garagarahabi is considered an organization. Akemi said that it had begun to rise during the war with the dark clans of China. They kicked the Chinese’s asses pretty good back then.
“You’re lucky,” Akemi said enviously. “Though you're still a bore.”
“I'd call it thoroughness. Anyway, when was I boring?”
“Glory to Heavenly Spouses! Not today.”
“You're a dangerous girl, Akemi.”
“You bet I am!” She cocked her nose.
“Sure. Correct me if I don't understand something. If we don’t take into consideration ordinary people, we have the same number of fighters as Snake’s mob, right?”
“Uh... I guess so,” Akemi was surprised. “But I will not deal with Antipov under any circumstances!”
“Whatever,” I thought about it for a moment. “But you have to admit that he showed up just on time. So, we need to change our plan.”
“Are you sure? With the current forces and plan, I guarantee we will win the war.”
“Yeah, what's the probability of clashing with the bloodline that we'll throw under the bus after the fact? This plan was good before, but now it's very risky.”
“Okay, if you say so. The fate of a weak girl is to follow her strong man,” she folded her hands on her knees and innocently looked down. “And the man must show the way and protect his woman.”
“So you don’t mind changing the plan?”
“If the new one is better than the old one.”
“Awesome! Dealio. Based on our recent conversation about the goal for training my people, I came up with,” I clicked my fingers pensively, “an outline for the plan.”
Losing Masks Page 15
