by S F Draven
“Hello, brother,” he said.
“Hello, Viktor. I’m sorry we have to meet under such terrible circumstances,” I replied, trying my best to lift myself to my feet, but it wasn’t until he got up behind me to help that I was actually successful.
“That’s been your problem all along, brother. You never let anyone help you, even when it’s crystal clear that you need it,” said Viktor and I couldn’t argue with him. If it weren’t for him, I’d still have been laying out in the road, hoping that someone would come across me before it was too late.
“I’m sorry it’s been so long,” was all that I could manage as he helped me into the passenger seat of his car. It was strange to see that he came alone, that he didn’t bring anyone with him in case a fight were to break out, and it was in that moment that I remembered just how similar the two of us truly were. The only reason he had the audacity to call me out on my behavior was because he shared in it as well, but he’d always been much better at handling it than I ever was.
The drive was completely silent, and I could tell that Viktor was waiting for his doctor to patch me up before he started bombarding me with the questions. He eyed the glove compartment, and I opened it up to retrieve a flask of Vodka, which I knew would help numb the pain.
“Thank you,” I said as I drank it all, not even taking a moment to breathe as I let the liquid burn into my throat, easing my troubles for a little while.
I had absolutely no idea where he was taking me, and it wasn’t until he pulled into an old abandoned laundromat that I realized just how extensive he had gotten at hiding the best of his business.
“Quite the choice,” I said.
“You don’t want anyone following your tracks, right? I couldn’t take you home, that’s the first place they’d look, and I don’t want to put my wife and kids at risk,” he said, and that I completely understood. I still couldn’t believe that he’d managed to have a family despite how hectic business had been, and he always managed to come out on top no matter what happened. Those were qualities that I didn’t have but always wanted, and I believed that they were things I would’ve learned over time. The old abandoned laundromat smelled of old detergent and wet dish towels as he helped me leap inside. Everyone was already waiting for us to arrive, and I was laid out on a small metal table as Viktor’s doctor went to work on my leg.
The process was excruciating, but I bit my tongue and dealt with it because the last thing I wanted was to look weak in front of my brother. It took just over a few hours to have me fully bandaged and resting, as Viktor’s entire entourage began to disband, leaving us alone after all these years.
“You look like hell,” said Viktor.
“You don’t look half bad yourself,” I said, with a chuckle.
“I’ve been following your work in the media, brother. I have to say that father would’ve been proud of all the work you’ve done thus far. It seems to me that you’ve had a bit of trouble on your hands along the way, and word has it that the man hanging from the ceiling in your hotel was one of your men. Is that true?”
“Unfortunately, brother, it is.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. It seems that you’re in much more trouble than you’ve been letting on. I thought that you called me because you couldn’t haul your ass out of the street, I didn’t think you had an actual threat on your hands,” said Viktor, looking rather concerned but I could already tell that he was gearing up to jump into action.
“You don’t know the half of it, brother. I have a lot of explaining to do, and it’s going to take quite a long time,” I said.
“I’ll get us both another drink,” he replied, moving into the other room so I could have a moment to breathe alone. It was so surreal to be back in his presence, as he was the brother I looked up to for most of my life. He was always the one getting us out of the messes we made growing up, petty theft, car theft or any other small crimes that were easy to cover up. Back then, we enjoyed the ride every step of the way, but as we got older, the stakes got higher, and it wasn’t fun anymore to wake up every day to find that our lives were on the line.
Viktor came back into the room with two glasses of hard liquor in hand and for that I was eternally grateful. I needed something to take the edge off before this conversation because I knew that my brother, the family man was going to have a lot of questions and judgment about my past behavior. It was no secret that we were opposites, that we always wanted different things out of life, but I never thought that I would be sitting across from him trying to decipher just how similar we might have been after all. I divulged all the details of Katerina and I, every little bit of information of how we got up to this point, and I knew that my brother would understand.
The woman he ended up marrying was one who had been in a very similar situation to Katerina, and I knew he would feel sympathetic to the troubles I’d found myself in. I worried that by the time we managed to track down whoever was doing this, it would be too late to save her. The mere thought of any of those men laying a hand on her made me want to fly into a blind rage, but I knew that wasn’t going to solve anything right now. I had to stay focused, and if I wanted to find Katerina, I had to first be absolutely honest with my brother.
“The one thing I’m the most surprised about is that you’re still capable of feeling something. For a while, I was worried that you lost every bit of your humanity the minute you started to really play your cards differently than we’d done in the past. It seems that you really care for this Katerina, and if getting her back is finally going to make you see that you shouldn’t have shut us all out in the first place, then we’re just going to have to track her down, aren’t we?” he asked, not being shy about taking the opportunity to take a jab at me whenever he could.
“I know that I haven’t been very forthcoming in the past, brother, and for that I’m deeply sorry. For a very long time, I had no idea who I was or what I wanted out of life. When I started to play both fields of the business, I felt the rush I felt when we were just boys, performing petty crimes in the hopes of getting father’s attention. I wanted to feel that rush for the rest of my life, but after a while, it began to die down and I was left right back at square one. I was at my wit’s end when I finally met Katerina, and at first I truly believed that I was in for one hell of a ride, that she was going to be just as much of a disappointment to me as the women that came before her, but she’s done so much to prove me wrong. She came into my life and reminded me that even men like me are capable of love, and now I’d do anything to get her back,” I said.
“We’re going to find Katerina, Dom. That’s for sure, but you have to be ready for whatever we’re about to walk into. Is there anything else I should know about the people who are doing this to you before we start planning our attack?” he asked, as though he thought I was withholding information.
“I’ve been honest with you, Viktor. If I knew who was doing this to me all along, chances are I probably wouldn’t be here right now. I’m just as in the dark as you are, but I need to get Katerina back. She’s the first woman who has made me believe that a partnership could exist for me, not like the others who betrayed me,” I said, as the painful memories of my past began to flood back.
“Like Giselle,” Viktor said, searching my expression for any sign of remorse, and even though I felt rather hurt by what she did to me, I didn’t regret what I had to do to her, no matter how hard it may have been.
“Like Giselle,” I said, with such finality that he was not going to say another word on the subject for quite some time.
Viktor and I spent the rest of the evening talking strategy, going through the list of possible suspects, trying to pull out who would have the balls to try to take me down knowing the family I came from and the reputation I’d built for myself. I thought back to every warning sign I received from this person, everything that was supposed to knock me off my rocker and scare me shitless, but all it did was remind me that I chose to play a very dangerous game wi
th my life.
Victor waited around with me for a few days to make sure that I was entirely nursed back to health before we moved forward with our plan. It was going to be all hell from here, because if I didn’t take the opportunity to strike fast, I’d be letting these people take advantage of me, tear me down and take away the woman I loved. I wasn’t going to let that happen, no matter how many times they’d believed that they had me incapacitated. Now, it’s war.
I woke early the next morning as my brother handed me a small cup of espresso. We both had been hiding out in the old laundromat until I could finally walk again. It felt good to be locked away, hidden behind closed doors, absolutely sure that no one would find us if they tried. It was a feeling I hadn’t felt in a very long time because I’d been under public watch and scrutiny for the better half of my life. Viktor reminded me of how good it felt to get away every once in a while, even him, being the family man he was, needed a break from time to time. We had enough time to go through the evidence of what we had, what was left over from the car wreck, asking around to see if anyone had heard anything. I just wanted to have someone or something to point my gun at, because every time I let myself think about that day, I flew into a blind rage, and Viktor had to do everything in his power to calm me down.
I hoped that when the moment came for me to finally be strong, I wouldn’t have any hesitation. There was a part of me that had toyed with the idea that it would be easier to start over without Katerina by my side, but I owed it to her to make sure that she was safe. I’d been at the point in my life where I’d been without love for so long that I had completely forgotten what it felt like. I didn’t know what the rules were, I didn’t know what constituted bad behavior, I just knew that I wanted her back in my arms safe and sound, no matter how hard things may be. She deserved every ounce of what I was capable of, and I planned on giving her the world the moment she set foot back into my life.
Viktor and I got into his black sedan and we drove down winding side streets while I tried to retrace my steps and think of anything that seemed out of order when I was at the airport.
“Were there any unfamiliar faces that stuck out to you? Anyone that was posing as part of your team but rubbed you the wrong way?” he asked as I pondered this question long and hard.
“Come to think of it, there was a blacked-out SUV parked not too far off from where we took off from, and it seemed that they had eyes on us the entire time,” I said, recalling that memory.
“If they’ve been tailing you from the airport, it means that someone has information on your whereabouts and travel time, meaning that they can place you at any scene at any given time. Who would have that kind of power?” he asked.
“The only other person who was aware of my travel plans was Katerina, but evidently she isn’t the one behind this. Someone has been playing extremely close attention it seems, and I’m going to have to find someone who’s willing to tell me where she is,” I said, as an idea began to spring to life.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” asked my brother.
“Are we walking directly into enemy territory hoping that someone may want to rat out their boss?” I asked.
“Exactly,” Viktor confirmed.
Once we arrived at the scene of the car crash, I desperately tried to search my memories for anything I may have missed along the way. It all happened so fast that it was hard to tell if something was out of order, but evidently these men knew exactly what they were doing.
“They had to know that I was not armed, because they would’ve never been able to incapacitate me if I had been,” I said, putting the pieces together. “Do you think that someone from my jet staff was bought off?” I asked my brother and he shook his head, acknowledging that it was, in fact, a possibility.
“That’s the problem with the business we run in, brother. Anything is possible, and when someone is taking the time out of their day to fuck with you, there is always a reason. It’s time we head directly into the lion’s den to ask all the right questions. One of these bastards is bound to show up sometime, as there aren’t very many places that people like us can go. We’ll scope out a few local bars tonight, a few strip clubs, we’ll find someone that’s going to be willing to talk,” said Viktor, rather optimistically. I was surprised that he was even up for something like this because he’d been so adamant on staying out of such places the minute he got married to his perfect wife.
It’s true what they say about the fact that family would really do anything for you, even if it goes against everything they believe in, I thought, remembering how willing Viktor had been my entire life growing up to teach me everything I needed to know; the few things that father failed to mention. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows in my family, and we went through some pretty dark times over the years, but we always managed to get out onto the other side eventually. No matter how terrible things may have got between us, my brothers were always the kind of people I could count on in a crisis. If one of us was going down, all of us were, and that was something that the person fucking with me was going to have to learn.
We waited around until it got dark, and we started moving through all of the local spots where our clients liked to hang out after we’d strike a deal. I looked around, getting a few drinks in me as I tried to spot any of the men that had been there that day. It wasn’t until around the fifth bar that I spotted someone rather suspicious going into the alleyway behind the building, and I nudged Viktor to look in my direction.
“What if we jump him?” I asked, and Viktor nodded.
“Lead the way, Dom,” he said and I did. I took my gun into my hands, cocking it back as I got ready for a fight if one were to break out. I ran up to the large man, getting him on his knees as I pointed the gun directly between his eyes. It wasn’t long before he put the pieces together, and while he may not have been the man in charge, it was certainly the start I was looking for.
“I had a feeling that you’d come looking for us eventually, Volkov,” he said, trying not to let us in on the fact that he was scared shitless. He kept glancing down the barrel of the gun, trying to pretend not to realize that his life was slowly flashing before his eyes.
“You all left me no choice. I believe you have something that belongs to me, and I’m not going to rest until I get her back,” I said, making sure that he heard my warning loud and clear.
“I’m not going to tell you shit,” he said, and I fired off the first shot at his leg, listening to him scream out in pain.
“You’re going to have to tell me something, though. Do you value your life at all? Because I’m going to rip you limb from limb until you give me what I’m looking for,” I said firmly, and I could see that he was starting to sweat. I shot him again in the other leg and it was finally clear to him that I meant business.
“Okay, okay! Please, please don’t do this. I have a family,” he said, but I didn’t care much for his problems.
“If you want to see them again, I suggest you start talking, or I’m going to find out who they are, and rip them to pieces while you watch,” I warned, and that was the final straw for him as he began to tell me everything I needed to know.
“There’s an old cabin about an hour from here that our boss has been spending a lot of time in, and that’s where they’re keeping your lady. Please, I’ll tell you how to get there, just don’t kill me!” he pleaded, begging for his life.
“You’ll do more than that, you’ll show us,” I said, watching as he crawled along to the car, bleeding out along the way, but the man was going to do anything to protect his family. I knew that Viktor could relate, and I looked over at my brother who had a proud look on his face. I was finally starting to feel like myself again, I was finally starting to feel like I was back in action, and I was going to do whatever it took to get Katerina back. Viktor tossed the man into the back seat of the car, neither of us caring much to learn his name, as Viktor pulled out a pair of handcuffs to make sure that he wasn’t going
anywhere.
“Try anything stupid and we’re both going to put a bullet in you without another thought to the matter, is that clear?” he said, and I could tell that the guy was much more afraid of my brother than he was of me. That was always how it went whenever we ran together, and it was times like now that I had no place being jealous. I was eternally grateful that Viktor was even doing this for me in the first place. It warmed my heart to know that we were finally getting somewhere, and I was going to drop as many men as it took to get Katerina back. She was the first woman who taught me how to love again, and after what happened to Giselle, I never thought the day would ever come.
We followed the man’s directions, driving for over an hour trying to get to this old, abandoned cabin that was hidden somewhere in the mountains. It was growing colder by the hour, and the roads were starting to fog up as the snowfall grew heavier. I didn’t care much for how dangerous the ride was going to get, because my only priority was to make sure that I got to Katerina before they tried to do anything with her. I knew that she wasn’t capable of dealing with that kind of torture because she’d had no prior training, but that was when I thought back to when I had her held captive in my basement. She handled that entire situation like a champion, and it was then that I realized something was intriguing about her. This was going to be no different, and I could only hope that she managed to hold her own until I got to her.
