Decklan was finally inside and he immediately looked in the direction of Vladimir’s private table, but it was empty.
He must be in the back with Candy, he thought.
Decklan had no choice but to sit and wait. Once again, he made for the bar to order a drink. He remembered what Langley had said last time about fitting in. Although he wasn’t quite sure it mattered at this point, seeing that he had a singular goal of talking to the most dangerous person in the club. Nonetheless, he didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks, so he got a whisky. Typically, he would just hold it to give the appearance of drinking, but in this situation, he could use the calming effect that alcohol provided. He drank his whisky neat and his nerves started to feel like the calm before a storm, which was fitting. Finally, he saw Vladimir appear from the back hallway, almost exactly like last time. Only this time, he looked over and spotted Decklan immediately. Decklan was caught off guard, but kept his eyes locked with Vladimir’s so he didn’t appear weak or scared. He could feel the tension, and was sure Vladimir was feeling the same. After all, he had just sent two guys to kill him and Langley less than forty-eight hours earlier. There was no way he wasn’t pissed as hell that it had failed.
Keeping stride toward his table, Vladimir waved Decklan over to join him.
That was easier than expected, Decklan thought.
Decklan was good at keeping cool under pressure, and he handled adversity and hostility better than most, but this was much different than anything he had been a part of before. Above all else, with Vladimir, it was always the unknown that made him most dangerous.
“Please, join me my friend,” Vladimir said to Decklan. “We have reason to celebrate tonight.”
Decklan was confused and hadn’t the first clue what Vladimir was referring too, but he figured it couldn’t be good.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what is it you are celebrating?” Decklan asked.
Vladimir let out a laugh. “Not me, Mr. Jennings. You and I.”
“I don’t follow,” Decklan replied.
“Because of you and your partner, I have been shown who is weak and unworthy in my operation. I must thank you for killing those two morons that I sent to take care of you two. Apparently, I have underestimated you both and you have shown me where I lack,” Vladimir said, sounding oddly happy.
“Actually, that’s why I’m here.” Decklan said. “I wanted to talk to you about our differences.”
“Differences?” Vladimir asked, seeming clueless, which he was clearly not.
“Well… yes. My partner and I agree not to tell the cops about what it is you do and that you have been trying to have us killed, and in exchange, you stop trying to kill us,” Decklan replied.
Vladimir took a sip of his vodka before replying. “So blackmail is your play here, Mr. Jennings? Are you sure that’s such a good idea? Has your partner not told you anything about me?”
“Yes, he’s told me enough. And I’m not blackmailing you; it’s a compromise. We will stop killing your guys so you can continue running your operation, and in return, you let us go about our business.”
“And what exactly is your business, Mr. Jennings?” Vladimir asked.
“It was just a figure of speech. We just want to be left alone is all. I don’t believe that is too much to ask for. Plus, I’m sure there comes a point where you can’t afford to keep having your guys drop like flies,” Decklan said, almost bragging.
“You have balls, Mr. Jennings. I will give you that,” Vladimir replied. “Not many men would have the intestinal fortitude to come in here and face me like a man, much less demand something from me.”
This wasn’t exactly an answer, and it left Decklan feeling uneasy. He couldn’t get a gauge on whether Vladimir was going to agree or not, so he pressed further.
“So what do you say? Do we have a deal?” Decklan asked, hoping to wrap this increasingly uncomfortable conversation up.
“I’ll tell you what, if you can beat my best guy one-on-one, I will agree to leave you and your partner alone,” Vladimir replied.
“What do you mean, like a fight?” Decklan asked.
“Correct, my friend. Right now, out back,” Vladimir said, catching Decklan completely off guard.
Decklan knew that coming in here tonight could result in several different outcomes, but he did not anticipate this. He knew he had the skills to beat most men in a one-on-one fight, but he wasn’t confident that Vladimir would make it a fair fight.
“All I have to do is beat up another one of your guys, and you will leave us alone?” Decklan asked, in a cocky tone. He knew he didn’t really have a choice, so he might as well come across as confident as possible.
“That’s right. All you must do is win a fight. That’s not so hard, is it? Seems like a fair trade to me,” Vladimir replied.
“All right, so who’s it going to be?” Decklan asked.
Vladimir smiled and pointed behind Decklan. “Him.”
Son of a bitch, not this guy.
CHAPTER 16
There he was, the same behemoth of a man that he encountered last time he was here. This guy had to be at least six foot seven and weigh no less than three hundred pounds. And not the three hundred pounds that one would be accustomed to in America. No, this guy looked like he had been training for a bodybuilding competition his whole damn life.
Decklan had fought guys bigger than him his whole life, but this was an entirely different beast. This guy looked like he could pick Decklan up with one hand and pull him apart limb from limb like a chimpanzee peeling a banana. The good news was, he would clearly have the speed advantage and the better gas tank. Guys of this size usually relied on big heavy shots and didn't have the cardiovascular capacity to throw shots in volume. The plan here was to avoid his big shot and then land as many of his own before getting back out of range to avoid the next attempt. Decklan figured if he could do this long enough, the big guy would tire himself out and then he could go in for the finishing blow.
Decklan also knew better than to let the fight go to the ground. With this guy's size and strength, anything on the ground would certainly result in Decklan getting pummeled. He remembered how easily the guy sat him back down last time, and that was only with one hand. There was no reason to try and match this guy in strength, because that would be impossible.
They all stood up, and Vladimir led the way out through the back hallway. They all ended up outside behind the building, completely out of sight from anyone. There was no way Langley could know he was back here, so Decklan knew he was on his own for this one. Decklan looked around and counted six other guys, not including the silverback gorilla standing in front of him, ready to fight.
“This doesn’t exactly look fair to me,” Decklan said. “There are eight of you and only one of me. How do I know your guys won’t jump in to help?”
“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Jennings. You have my word that no one will interfere with the fight. We will all respect whatever outcome lies ahead of us,” Vladimir responded calmly.
Decklan wasn’t inclined to believe him, but then again, he didn’t really have a choice. The only thing he could do was try to come out of this alive and hopefully get to walk out of here in one piece.
“Are there any rules?” Decklan asked.
“Only one: The loser must die,” Vladimir responded coldly.
“Great, this should be fun,” Decklan said sarcastically under his breath.
“When do we…” Decklan started to ask, but before he could finish, the big guy came at him like a bull charging a matador.
Decklan quickly stepped to the side, barely missing the three-hundred-pound bulldozer. The guy turned around to make another attempt but Decklan took a step toward him and landed a heavy low kick to the outside of his knee. This put the big guy down to one knee and Decklan followed up with a quick right hook to the jaw. Two quick, hard blows to start the fight, but the guy seemed relatively unfazed.
Shit, how the hell did he take those shots like that?
This was clearly going to be harder than Decklan thought. The guy made it back to his feet, ready to return the favor. He grabbed Decklan by the shoulder, pulled him in and landed a shot to the stomach. All the air from his lungs blew out like a popped balloon. This put Decklan down on all fours, and before he had the chance to get back up, the big guy picked him up like a baby and launched him against the metal dumpster against the wall. Decklan felt like he had just been run over by a bus but knew he had to get back to his feet or it would only get worse.
He stood up, trying to regroup himself, and another blow landed. This time it was a front kick that knocked him back against the dumpster again. He hit it full force and fell ass-first to the pavement. Despite getting his ass handed to him thus far, Decklan noticed that the big guy getting tired. As he went in to apply more damage, Decklan landed a foot sweep, knocking him down to the same pavement he was currently occupying. They were on the same level now, but Decklan knew he couldn’t stay here, so despite the pain radiating through his bones, he got to his feet as quickly as possible and landed a kick to the side of his head.
This kind of blow would knock out ninety-nine percent of people, but apparently this guy was made of steel. Decklan backed up a little to gather himself and prepare for the next wave of violence. The big guy managed to get back to his feet as well, but he was clearly slowing down and in pain himself. This was good news for Decklan, if he could survive a little longer and not take too much damage.
“Not bad for a little guy,” the Russian giant said, smiling and wiping blood from his face like he was having fun.
“Don’t worry, asshole, there is plenty more where that came from,” Decklan responded confidently.
Decklan took a quick glance over at Vladimir to see his reaction. Nothing. Completely stoic. He might as well have been watching paint dry.
I guess this guy really is a psychopath, Decklan thought.
“Well, come on already, you big ape,” Decklan said, hoping to entice the big guy into wearing himself out. He figured his best bet was to be a counter striker as opposed to making the first move.
This clearly pissed the big guy off and he went to attack. He led with a huge, looping punch, but Decklan saw it coming a mile away. Then he came back up with his own shot, landing a clean uppercut to his chin and stumbling him backwards. Again, the big guy let a shot rip and again he missed, only to absorb another shot from Decklan. With every miss, he was taking one in return, which was causing him to get more and more tired. Decklan had seen this countless times in a fight. The bigger, stronger guy gassing out too quickly, only to get his own lights put out because he didn’t have the energy to fight back. The longer the fight went, the better chance Decklan had at coming out on top.
They exchanged a few more shots, but Decklan could tell the punches from the big guy didn't have the same force behind them as the first few. Unfortunately, the lactic acid building up in his own muscles was taking away his speed and power as well. This was when he acted against his better judgment and took the fight to the ground.
Decklan figured he could catch him off guard and get him on his back. He hadn't wrestled since high school, but there were some things that a wrestler never forgot. He waited for another missed punch to get the guy off balance and then he shot for the takedown. He hit the big guy right at mid-thighs, wrapped both arms around his legs, and used everything in his heart and soul to lift this giant off the ground. He had him lifted about a foot off the ground, took a few steps forward and then slammed him back first on the hard pavement.
Unfortunately, he had to pay the price of having his arms slammed between the pavement and the big guy’s back, but it was a price he was willing to pay to try and end this fight once and for all. Decklan could see the exhaustion and surprise in his opponent’s eyes. This was a look he had seen many times, and it always indicated that victory was close. The only difference here was in order to win, he had to kill him or risk being killed himself. Decklan started raining down shots in such volume that the big guy had no choice but to cover up and take a purely defensive position. After about ten straight shots landed, Decklan quickly advanced his position up toward his chest, grabbed his left arm and slid off the side.
He made sure to keep his legs wrapped around the secured arm by keeping one leg on the head and the other on the chest. Then he leaned back and pulled with all his strength until he was lying flat on his back and had the big guy’s arm hyperextended. He kept applying pressure until he heard a loud pop, indicating he had just broken the guy’s arm. A loud, deep scream erupted as Decklan quickly shot back up to his feet. The big guy just lay there holding his arm, screaming in excruciating pain. This wasn’t the first person Decklan had done this to, so he knew just how painful it was. The fight was clearly over, and Decklan was hoping that Vladimir would accept the result as it was, and not actually make him go through with killing him.
“Well done, Mr. Jennings. Your skills match your reputation,” Vladimir said. “But remember, we had a deal.”
This was exactly what Decklan was hoping to avoid.
“Surely you can see your guy is in enough pain and I’ve done enough to earn your respect,” Decklan said.
“Respect? You had my respect before this,” Vladimir responded. “But a deal is a deal, after all. So either you kill him, and I leave you alone, or I kill him and then I kill you and your partner. The choice is yours.”
Fuck.
“Well, I don’t exactly have anything to kill him with, unless you want me to beat him to death,” Decklan said.
“Here,” Vlad said as he tossed Decklan a gun. “This is his gun. It’s a fitting end for him, don’t you think?”
Decklan could hear his wife’s voice. You are better than this. There is always another way.
But there wasn’t. Not in this situation. And he wasn’t even sure he was better than this. At least not anymore. As he watched the gun float through the air, everything seemed to run in slow motion and he noticed something on Vladimir’s wrist that was always covered up, but when he went to toss the gun, his sleeve pulled back.
Holy shit, the tattoo. It was you, Decklan thought to himself as he went to catch the gun.
For the first time since losing his family, Decklan finally had solid proof. It was him. Vladimir Ivanov was the man responsible for the murder of his family. Even if he didn’t pull the trigger himself, he called the shots.
Now Decklan had a choice to make. Use the gun he was just gifted and try his luck with taking out eight armed men, or kill the son of a bitch whose arm he just snapped, keep the deal with Vladimir, and get back to Langley as quickly as possible?
“What are you waiting for?” Vladimir asked, clearly growing impatient.
Decklan pointed the gun at his defeated opponent and looked at Vladimir. “Nothing.”
He fired three shots into his chest, walked over to Vladimir, handed him the gun and whispered confidently, “A deal is a deal. If I see any of your guys again, I’ll be coming for you myself.”
Vladimir took the gun and smiled. “I’ll be seeing you around, my friend.”
Decklan headed back into the club and walked straight through to the front and into the parking lot. He wanted to get back to Langley as quickly as possible to tell him about his revelation and that they could finally breathe a little, assuming Vladimir stayed true to his word.
Despite having just killed a man, Decklan was riding a high. He felt like this was his first break in a month, and it felt damn good. He decided to walk past his truck and go directly to Langley. He couldn’t wait until they were back at the house to tell him. He found his car sitting in the back of the parking lot and jumped in.
“Good to see you’re still alive. What the hell happened in there?” Langley asked.
“Long story short, I worked out a deal. We don’t tell the cops about his little operation and he stops trying
to have us killed,” Decklan replied.
“How exactly did you manage that?”
“He wouldn’t agree to my terms unless I fought one of his men to the death. I think he assumed I wouldn’t stand much of a chance against his giant,” Decklan said.
“Giant?” Langley said. “What did this guy look like?”
“It was that same guy we saw last time. That giant skyscraper of a man,” Decklan replied.
Langley’s face turned white as a ghost.
“Whoa! What the hell is wrong with you?” Decklan asked, noticing the sudden change in Langley’s face.
“That was Victor you killed. He was Vladimir’s right-hand man. But that’s not the worst part. Victor was his nephew. Vladimir treated him like a son, and they were extremely close. He had been grooming him for years, eventually leaving him to take over one day.”
“Are you sure? He didn’t bat an eye when I killed him,” Decklan said.
“I’m sure,” Langley replied. “He doesn’t like to show weakness or vulnerability, but I can assure you that whatever deal you thought you had is off. You just killed the closest person to him, and I can promise you he is going to open the gates of hell and drag us down with him.”
“Just our fucking luck!” Decklan replied, no longer feeling good. “What are we going to do now?”
Langley stared off into the night. “Kill him before he kills us.”
CHAPTER 17
Decklan had just gone through an extremely dangerous and high stress situation in order to secure their safety, but it turned out that Vladimir had never intended on allowing that to happen. He had picked his nephew to fight him because he thought it was a sure victory. Victor was twice Decklan’s size, much stronger, and probably had no problem killing. It was a sure thing. Unfortunately for Vladimir and even more so for the now deceased Victor, Decklan was one of the few people in the world who could take him down. Now, not only did they still have a target on their backs, but Vladimir was about to ramp up his efforts tenfold until they were both strung up like slaughtered cows.
BLOOD TIES (Decklan Jennings Thriller Book 1) Page 10
