by Hamel, B. B.
“That’s on account of the rats.” Oleg grinned at me.
I felt a wave of nausea and had to look away.
Leo sighed and finished his whiskey. There was a noise on the stairs and I looked back over my shoulder as Hedeon came down the steps and into the living room. He looked thinner than I remembered, his right arm in a sling, his clothes shabby and ill-fitting. He needed a haircut and a shave and probably a shower.
But his eyes still burned with that odd intensity.
“You’re here,” he said.
I nodded. “We’re here.”
Leo walked past me, over to Hedeon. There was a tentative moment until Hedeon reached out with his good hand and gave Leo a quick, tight embrace.
“I haven’t thanked you properly,” Hedeon said. “I didn’t think it would be good to do it on the phone.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
Hedeon waved him off. “You saved my life. If you hadn’t shown up, I would’ve been trapped.”
“We got lucky.”
“Thank you.” Hedeon motioned to the table. “Sit, drink more of Oleg’s awful piss whiskey if you want.”
Leo grinned and took a seat. I pulled out a chair next to him and Hedeon sat at the head of the table. Oleg refilled the glasses but lingered in the kitchen doorway.
Hedeon let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. “I have to say, it’s a risk that you’re here.”
“I know.” Leo leaned toward him. “I wouldn’t have risked it if this weren’t important.”
“You could’ve called.”
“Probably, but you would’ve said no.”
Hedeon gave him a small smile. “All right then. What’s so important you had to track me down?”
Leo glanced at me and nodded. “You tell him.”
I cleared my throat. Surprise bolted through me. But I took a breath and looked at Hedeon, who stared back impassively.
“One of the girls that tipped us off to Maksim’s whereabouts is in trouble,” I said. “Maksim’s been punishing the girls. Thinks one of them betrayed him, which they did. I want to help them.”
“Help the girls?” Hedeon made a face. “They’re, what, a bunch of used-up hookers?”
I grimaced and felt a wave of anger. “They’re people stuck in a bad position.”
“You want to risk a lot for these people.”
“They’re important. Ursula helped us.”
Hedeon leaned toward her. “You mean, Ursula helped me.”
“You wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near Maksim without my help,” I said, a drip of venom slipping into my tone. “Don’t forget about that. I was in the car when we saved you from the Volkovs.”
“From your family.” A little smile lit up his eyes. “I don’t forget that, either.”
“Hedeon,” Leo said warningly.
Hedeon leaned back and waved him off. “Tell me why saving these girls should be worth my time and my men.”
“Because they know things,” I said, struggling to keep my anger under control. “They can show us where Maksim’s been staying, where he’s weakest, where his men are weakest. They tell the girls things after they sleep together.”
“So ask them for this information.”
“I can’t do that and you know it. They’re not stupid enough to just give it away. And I can’t just abandon them either.”
Hedeon grunted and looked at Leo. “What do you think?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t agree with her.”
“Of course you do. You always agree with the pretty ones. A pretty girl flashes her eyes at you and you jump, is that it, Leonid?”
I frowned but refused to step up to the bait.
“You know that’s bullshit,” Leo said. “You’re just trying to press our buttons, and I’m not sure why.”
Hedeon grunted. “Maybe that’s true, or maybe I want you to give me a real good reason to help these whores.”
“They’re people,” I said.
“Whores, people, whatever you want to call them, I still don’t care about their lives.”
“Aside from the information, it’ll be a blow to Maksim’s business,” Leo said. “He doesn’t have much going aside from selling drugs and running girls. We take away his girls, we take away another income source. If he can’t pay his guys, his organization begins to crumble.”
“Interesting.” Hedeon touched his chin with his good hand. “These are convincing reasons. But for some reason I’m not convinced.”
“Then maybe do it for Leo,” I said. “Since he saved your ass.”
“Careful,” Hedeon said, glaring at me. “My patience has limits.”
“Good.” I glared right back. “I hope you get mad. Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for yourself, maybe you’ll do something.”
He showed his teeth like a rabid dog. “Give me a reason not to hurt you, girl.”
“Hedeon,” Leo said. “Enough. We’re saving the girls whether you approve or not. And maybe Robin’s right, maybe you need to get shaken out of this little funk you’re in.”
Hedeon looked at Leo and for a second, I thought he might stand and things might turn to violent. Instead, Hedeon let out a breath, glanced at Oleg, then nodded.
“All right,” he said. “We can save the girls.”
I blinked in surprise. “Really?”
“Really. You may have three men. I want good information out of this, and I want some cash. I’m sick of living like a fucking pauper and all my goddamn money is too hot to collect right now.”
“We’ll make it happen,” Leo said, though the edge in his tone remained.
“Good.” Hedeon moved back from the table and stood. “This war is going to come to an end soon, Leonid, whether we like that or not. I hope you’re ready for what’s coming.”
“I hope you’re right,” Leo said.
Hedeon left the table and walked back to the stairs. He went up, moving slowly, and disappeared beyond the wall. I heard his footsteps on the floorboards above us.
“Time to go,” Oleg said. “Unless you want to stick around and finish off my whiskey with me.”
“No, thanks,” Leo said. “Maybe another time.” He stood and gestured at me.
I stood and together we walked to the door. I glanced back over my shoulder and saw Oleg standing in the kitchen doorway watching us with a strange look in his eye. I couldn’t tell if it was anger, confusion, or something else. He held up a hand, waving goodbye, and I waved back. He grinned as I left and shut the door behind me.
Leo shook his head as the rain fell harder. “Fucking rain,” he said.
“Hedeon’s not in a good spot,” I said.
“No, he’s not.”
“You were right to warn me.”
“And yet you still almost lost your cool in there.”
I looked away. “Sorry. I just… I didn’t mean to.”
“He pushes people sometimes. He’s good at it. And when he’s in a bad mood, it never ends well.”
“I still should’ve had it together.”
“You’re fine.” He put his arm around me. “Come on. We’re getting drenched and we have a rescue operation to plan.”
I nodded and leaned against him as we hurried down the sidewalk, past boarded-up windows and trash in the gutter, toward his car parked at the end of the block.
21
Leonid
I parked at the end of a quiet, nearly suburban northern Philadelphia street. We were outside the city proper, though still technically within its borders. The streets were wider and there was more grass and more trees towering beside the houses. Robin shifted in her seat and craned her neck to see as far down the block as she could. Streetlights gave off a vivid white glow.
“Looks quiet,” she said. “Do you think the others are in position?”
“Better be.”
“Who’s coming?”
“Oleg and Reid, as far as I know, though Hedeon wasn’t very specific.”
&nbs
p; She nodded and pulled her knees up to her chest. “I’m worried about them, Leo.”
“I know.” I leaned across the seat and kissed her neck. She leaned into me and gave me a smile that didn’t touch her eyes. “We’ll get them out. I promise.”
“What if something happens?”
I wanted to tell her, something always happens. She’s been on enough missions not to realize that.
But instead, I just shook my head.
“We’ll do what we can.”
“Yeah.” She took a deep breath and sank back into her seat to wait.
I watched the clock and scanned the block. It was another hour before we were going in. I wanted to make sure the house wasn’t heavily guarded and we weren’t walking into a trap. It was past midnight, the crickets were out in force, and I could almost imagine why people would want to live anywhere but right in the middle of a bustling metropolis.
Not like this was the country or anything. It was still Philadelphia, just the edges of the city. The houses were still brick-fronted, but they had yards and were about twice as big as traditional Philly homes were. Some had front porches with colorful awnings in the front. Big doors and wide windows made them look like giants built the front.
I was used to the city proper. I was a street rat, an urchin kid that used to run around and fuck shit up late into the night. All this space made me uneasy, and I just wanted to get this over with.
Nothing much happened. A neighbor came out at one point, an old guy with white hair, black boxers, and a white t-shirt. He smoked a cigarette then went back inside. Cop cars drove past in the distance, their sirens wailing and bouncing off the houses and windows.
Robin jumped at every shadow.
I wanted to leave her back at the hotel, but she refused, and I knew I wasn’t going to win the argument. We’d been through enough shit by now.
The time slipped past. I didn’t hear from Reid or Oleg but I knew I wouldn’t. We were keeping it radio silent for a while before the operation began. I checked my gun a few times, just to have something to do, and tried to stay calm.
When the time came to move, I reached out and touched Robin’s thigh.
“Stay here.”
She looked at me and nodded. “I don’t want to.”
“I know. But it’s going to be too dangerous. I can’t keep you safe and save all the girls at the same time.”
“Yeah, that’s what you said before. And I guess I believe you.”
“Trust me, I want this to work out.” I leaned forward and kissed her. She kissed me and let her hand linger on my cheek.
“How’d we end up here?” she asked. “After all this. Me and you.”
“I don’t know. The first time I saw you, I killed your cousin and took you captive.”
“And now we’re fighting my family together.”
“Fucked up, right?”
“Fucked up.” She smiled. “But I sort of like it.”
“I knew you would.” I kissed her again, bit her lip. “I’ll be back, I promise.”
“You better.”
I pushed open the door and walked out into the night.
It was cool and crisp. I pushed Robin from my mind. I had to concentrate on what was going to happen next, not think about the pretty girl I left behind in the car waiting to see if I’d make it out alive or not. My breath fogged up and I could see movement at the other side of the block.
Two figures came toward me. I recognized Oleg and Reg, both decked out in black, both of them heavily armed.
I pulled my own gun.
We converged on a house with a big blue door. Beat-up white plastic chairs sat on the porch and cigarette butts overflowed from an ashtray. I nodded at Reid, who stepped up to the door and knocked.
There was noise inside, whispered voices. Someone stopped just on the other side of the door.
“Who is that?” A girl’s voice, young sounding.
“Pizza,” Reid said. “Got a pizza here. From Gino’s.”
“We didn’t order pizza. Go away now.”
“Come on, lady. It’s really hot. Seriously, it’s burning my fingers. Just open up and pay, I’m running way behind.”
“No, no pizza here, please. Go away now. No pizza here.”
“Lady, what the hell? This is the right house, it’s on the freaking address slip. Take a look if you don’t believe me.”
More whispered sounds inside. Then a man’s voice.
“The lady said to fuck off. I say also fuck off now.”
Oleg stepped up, pressed the barrel of his long rifle against the door, and fired two shots.
A grunt and screams from inside.
Reid fired his rifle at the handle then up toward the top of the door. He yanked at it, kicked it, and the door popped open, the locks shattered from his gunfire.
Inside was chaos. A man in a black shirt and jeans lay on the floor, several holes in his chest pumping blood. Girls ran all over the place, some wearing practically nothing. Two older men sat on a ratty brown couch, both of them with shocked looks on their faces.
“On the floor,” I shouted at them.
They both dropped, hands up on their heads. Oleg watched the stairs, Reid moved further toward the kitchen.
I checked the guys for guns. They weren’t armed, but I did take their wallets.
“Johns,” I said, nodding at the guys. “Leave them.”
Oleg nodded. “I hold here. You go.”
I followed Reid. He crept toward the kitchen and went to move around the corner, but I grabbed him.
Gunfire erupted from inside right where his head would’ve been.
He looked back at me and grinned. “Good save,” he said.
“You’re welcome.”
I crouched down low and looked around the corner. A guy stood across the room, gun up. I shot him once in the leg, again in the gut, then pulled back as he sprayed wildly. There was a scream, a yell of pain, then the shooting stopped. I came around the corner with Reid, guns leveled.
A girl wearing a pink shirt and a pair of tight pink sweatpants stood over the guy with a long kitchen knife. Blood dripped from its blade as she stabbed him against in the neck.
“You fucker,” she said. “You fucking fucker. You deserve this and worse, you fucking shit.” She spit on him then threw then knife down on her body. She turned to me, hands in the air.
“What’s your name?”
“Ursula.”
“You’re Robin’s friend.”
She tilted her head. “And you’re the man. Leonid.”
“Follow Reid,” I said. “He’ll take you out front. Get as many of the girls as you can.”
“They’ll be hiding upstairs.”
“How many more men?” Reid asked.
“Four. All upstairs.”
“Guns?”
“Lots of guns.”
I nodded. “You first. Get going.”
Ursula strode past me and back into the living room. She saw the dead guy by the door, walked to him, spit on him, and looked back at me. “Three,” she said.
“Three upstairs,” I told Oleg.
He grinned. “Good. Fun time.” He moved up the steps.
Gunfire burst out. He held on the stairs, gun up, and moved slow. The gunfire paused and he poked up, fired a few rounds.
“Get moving!” he yelled.
I came up next as he put down suppressing fire. It was a tangle of rooms at the top of the steps. I made a dash for the first open door I saw and caught sight of scared girls hiding behind beds. I jumped inside and motioned at the girls to stay quiet and to stay down.
I leaned out the door. As Oleg fell back, one of the Volkov guys started shooting. He gave me a nice target and I put two bullets in his head.
Two more. I turned to the girls.
“Ursula’s waiting downstairs,” I said. “If you want to get the hell out of here, run now.”
The girls hesitated, looked at each other, then took off down the hall.
I moved behind them. I saw a shadow of someone move in another room and ran at it as Oleg and Reid came up. I found a man crouched next to a closet, hands over his head, shaking like a leaf. He looked up at me, his eyes wide.
“Please,” he said.
I killed him. I didn’t bother to find out if he was a john or not. I gestured at the girls hiding nearby and told them to get moving. I went on to the next room, cleared it, and heard gunfire from the room at the end of the hall. I found Reid standing over a dead Volkov guy, his gun kicked aside.
More girls spilled out of doors as they began to yell at each other in Russian.
I cleared the last room and nodded as Oleg approached.
“Empty now,” he said. “But I found this.” He grinned and opened a black duffel bag.
It was full of rolled-up cash.
“Good work. Hedeon will be happy.”
He slung the bag over his shoulder. “Now we can afford some furniture.”
“Maybe start with a few plates first.”
Oleg laughed. More girls made a break for it from a side room. I turned to follow and had to stop fast as one of the johns from downstairs stood at the bottom of the steps with a gun raised.
“What the fuck,” I managed to say just before he fired.
One bullet tore into my leg. I growled and fired back. I was more accurate. His head snapped back and he fell down into a pool of his own blood.
“Fuck,” I growled.
“Come on.” Reid appeared and took my arm. “We’ve got to get moving.”
He helped me down the steps. Oleg brought up the rear, his gun up and moving. We reached the front door and found the girls gathered out front with Ursula standing in their midst. She frowned at me, frowned at my bleeding leg, then nodded.
“Where now?” she asked.
“You’re with them.” I gestured at Oleg and Reid.
“No. I want to go with Robin.”
“That’s not happening.” I slipped out from under Reid’s arm and staggered but kept my balance. “We don’t have enough space for you all. But they have two vans and a safe house you can stay at.”
Ursula frowned and considered. I could see her doing the math in her head, trying to weigh whether going with us would be safe or going back inside would be better.