by Ivy Clyde
“Why?” Pete asked at once.
“Because Matteo thinks it’s cheating the gang. He would rather circulate the profits between the lower ranking lackeys to keep their loyalty. He is also scared Ivan would get a whiff of this and eradicate them both. Matteo and Boris have been at each other’s throat for a while now. They’re rarely seen together anymore.”
“Tell me more about Matteo,” said Pete. “What does he do?”
“Runs scams.”
Pete nodded and ran a hand over his bald patch. “What about him, kid?” he asked, pointing at a heavily freckled man with ginger hair.
“That’s Dylan O’Brien,” I said, recognizing him instantly. “Arms dealer. Deals in handguns at a local level but can procure assault weapons if needed.”
“What else?”
“Uhh…” I wracked my brains, trying to come up with more info. “He’s a tough guy and well-respected in the gang. If he looks at a lackey like me, I go down on my knees or risk losing my head.”
A chuckle escaped Pete at that. “Good, kid. Very good.” His expression turned grim as he added, “It’s good you learned that shit early on. The fucker didn’t even blink when he cut my face up.”
My gaze flickered to the scar running across his left cheek.
“Only someone like Victor Sokolov could dare to piss him off,” I whispered.
“Make sure not to call him by his name,” said Pete in a grim tone. “Call him Sir or Master. It doesn’t matter what others call him but a new recruit like you shouldn’t even utter his name casually.”
“Got it,” I said, filing away that info in my mind.
“This guy,” said Pete, pointing at a photograph which showed Victor but he wasn’t the main focus here. The slightly older handsome man walking beside him was the main interest here.
“That’s Alexei Sokolov,” I said, studying him intently. I had never seen such a close-up of this guy in the department’s database. Picking up the photograph, I held it close to my face, noticing the edges of a tattoo peeking from under his collar. His keen amber-hued eyes were framed behind clear glasses. The long strands of his auburn hair were slicked back neatly.
He had a very different look from the slimy-looking gangsters around him. The guy didn’t need to wear a designer suit or a diamond-studded wristwatch to appear suave and polished. He would look that way even if he was wearing a casual hoodie and ripped jeans.
“Danny,” called Pete loudly from the other end of the table. “Talk.”
“Alexei Sokolov…he’s Victor’s older cousin. Ivan adopted him into the family since he was a child and he is very close to his son. While he is seen with Victor almost all the time, there is no dirt on him…yet.”
Pete nodded. “That’s right.” His grim expression melted away and he suddenly barked a laugh.
I nearly jumped in surprise.
“Geez, I keep forgetting you’re a chick underneath all that. You’re a crazy kid, you know that?”
An awkward chuckle escaped me.
“I like you,” said Pete with a rare smile. “You’re perfect for this mission.”
I gave a nod, still uncomfortable with how they all thought I was so perfect for this operation.
“You’re crazy for agreeing to this,” said Pete.
“Hmm,” I mumbled.
It’s not like Nolan and the rest of his superiors gave me a choice. They thought I was perfect and pushed me into this. There wasn’t a single excuse I was left with to get out of it. “Someone’s got to do this,” I said, telling him what I’d been telling myself over the past three months.
Pete nodded grimly. “You’re ready, Danny.”
4
Danica
My hand hovered over the button of the security system outside Nolan’s apartment but I still couldn’t seem to press it. Guilt weighed in my gut. I knew I was doing something wrong by just being here.
It was the day before I’d be infiltrating the Sokolov gang.
I wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near police personnel this close to the start of the operation but I couldn’t help it. The idea of being so far from my commanding officers was terrifying. They’d prepared me for it but the fear of fucking up never left me.
I desperately needed to see the chief one last time before embarking on this dangerous mission. Taking a deep breath, I pressed the button and leaned forward to talk into the system. “Cap, it’s me,” I said softly. “Danica.”
Moving away, I rubbed at my eyes. This late at night, I felt completely exhausted.
The sound of movement on the other side of the door made me look up. A few seconds later, the door opened.
Nolan was still in his suit. It seemed like he was still working but there were signs he was as exhausted as me. Dark stubble covered his jaw and his shirt was wrinkled and free from his waistband.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said as soon as he laid eyes on me. “You should be resting tonight.”
“I know,” I muttered and tried not to squirm under his stern gaze. “I’ll go away soon. I just need to talk to you.”
Nolan opened the door wider and stepped to the side.
“It’s about tomorrow,” I said as I passed him to enter the dimly-lit apartment.
“I guessed as much.”
I didn’t venture further inside his apartment but I could detect the unmistakable scent of Chinese food from somewhere close by. “Chief?”
“I’m listening.” He hadn’t moved away from the door either.
“Do you think I can do this?” I asked, looking up into his impassive face. “Everyone keeps telling me I’m perfect for the job but I need to hear it from you. Can I do this without fucking up?”
I was glad he didn’t immediately reply with a “sure, you can!” It was almost a relief to see him think before answering me.
Nolan moved closer to me and laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. The warmth of his palm seeped in through the thin cotton of my shirt. “I’ll tell you what I think,” he said, leaning down to look into my eyes. “We’ve got one shot at this and you’re the only chance we have at succeeding. I’m not going to say you can do this because there’s really no way to know that for certain. I won’t lie to you or give you false comfort.”
My fingers clutched the front of his shirt. It was a desperate gesture but Nolan didn’t comment on it. “I don’t want comfort,” I said. “I just want the truth.”
“We couldn’t have picked a better person than you for this job,” said Nolan in a grim tone. “To be completely honest, I’d rather go in your place and take the risks myself but I can’t do that this time, so I am putting all my trust in you.”
“I don’t want to let you down,” I said in a small voice. “I don’t want to let the team down.” I closed my eyes, knowing deep down that no one would give me a hard time even if I fucked up. They would never get the chance to curse at me because I’d be dead before the team even had a clue.
“Danica,” he said in a low, grim tone. “Stop thinking about the team. Don’t think about us at all. Starting tomorrow, we won’t be a team.”
I swallowed.
“Focus on yourself from now on,” he said. “From now on, it’s just you. That’s it. You’re the only thing that matters. Do you know understand?”
“Yeah.”
He seemed to hesitate for a moment before continuing. “It’s good that you’re afraid. Shows you’re smart enough to realize what you’re up against. I busted a ring once and I was fucking terrified the whole time. Gang life shows you things that can fuck a man up. But you’re strong, Danica. I know you’ll be able to handle that kind of shit.”
“Did you do anything fucked up while you were undercover?”
Nolan reached down to lift the hem of his shirt. For a moment, I stared at his perfectly defined abs but it wasn’t long before my gaze fell on the thick circular scar in his lower abdomen. Veins of white radiated away from the wound. It appeared to be a gunshot wound.
“I spent
a year in a cartel in Guadalajara,” said Nolan, dropping his shirt to cover up the scar. “They were a supplier of heroin and smuggling it into the country. I was one of the many rookies sent out there. I made it out alive but many didn’t.”
I stared at the haunted look that had descended into his eyes. Nothing ever seemed to faze this man but right now, I could see his complexion turning paler. I could only imagine the horrors he’d faced back then.
“It’s hard to even put words into the kind of shit you see,” said Nolan. “I’m not just talking about death. I’m talking about poverty, desperation, greed, true horrors. I was on heroin for a while.”
I stared up at him. While I knew undercover cops often had to handle drug abuse for the sake of keeping up a façade of belonging in a gang but…heroin? It was enough to make my skin break out in cold sweat.
I couldn’t look at the chief the same way again. He wasn’t just my boss anymore but a veteran. He was a man who’d done service to the country but received no medal or recognition.
“That kind of shit messes you up,” said Nolan in a softer, gentler voice. “A part of me feels like I’m never going to be the same again but what brings me peace is knowing that I did something good. It makes all the shit I went through worth something.”
“Christ, Cap!” My body made a weird movement as I was stuck between the action of hugging him and then, stopping myself before I could do it.
“I did some horrible shit and you’ll have to do it too,” he said in a hard voice. “Because that’s how you survive. The only thing you must remember is that no matter what you’ve done, you’re still the good guy.”
“The good guy?”
“Yes. No matter what you’re forced to do during the operation, you’re still my person. You’re not a part of the Sokolov gang. You’re their enemy and you’re going to destroy them.”
“What if I’m forced to do bad shit like killing someone, Cap? Will I still be one of the good guys?” I asked, sinking my teeth into my quivering bottom lip.
“Do you think I’m a good guy?” he asked.
“Of course,” I said at once.
“Even after you found out about the stuff I did that still haunts me to this day and keeps me awake at night?”
I nodded. “Because I know you, Cap, and you’re great.”
A rare smile lit up his handsome face. “I know you too, Danica, and I know you’re one of the good guys. No matter what happens, you won’t let that shit destroy you.”
5
Danica
My gaze roved all over the men standing around me. While some of them were dressed in cheap suits like me, a majority of them were wrapped in warm coats to stave off the cold on that late November morning. They all seemed to be in their mid-thirties and a quick look at them was enough to tell me I was the youngest among them all.
Did the department make a mistake by sending me here? Nolan said the gang was looking to initiate young blood into their ranks but none of these grumpy, unkempt men seemed close to the description Pete gave us.
Pete left me in the courtyard of an old mansion early that morning and told me to wait with the rest of the recruits. The men crowding around me had all been recommended by someone higher up in the ranks of the gang.
A familiar figure in an expensive gray suit walked toward me. I instantly recognized him from a distance because of his black shades.
“Pete finally dropped you off, huh?” he said, coming to stand close to me. Boris Pavlov, the man who controlled the prostitution rings of the city, grinned at me.
“Yeah,” I said shortly.
Reaching out, he caught my chin between his fingers and turned my face to the left and then to the right. “You’re a pretty one,” he murmured in a thoughtful voice.
My jaws clenched together as I struggled not to let the disgust show on my face. The man dealt in selling children and young men and women so much that he couldn’t see another human as anything but an object for sexual gratification. I was in this disguise to protect myself from such advances but before this man, it had zero efficacy.
A gray tongue flicked out to run across his thin lower lip. Leaning in, he whispered, “I’m thinking of getting you under me.”
His sexual innuendo didn’t escape me. My hands clenched into fists as I stayed still and kept my expression impassive despite him breathing down on my face. Deep breaths, I told myself. It wouldn’t matter who took me under their wing. They were all criminal assholes.
Boris ran a finger along my right eyebrow.
The man’s close attention was starting to creep me out but I was saved from further inspection by his ringing phone. Stepping away, he reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone. A sly grin came on his face as he checked out the number.
“Yes, yes, the order is ready,” he said, pressing the phone to his ear. “Three girls and two boys from Russia. All prepubescent. Blond and blue-eyed. You can collect them from the same place as last time.” He walked a few feet away as he continued to talk. “Yes, Sanchez, the same fucking place in the Bronx. 1256 Cherry Drive.”
My heart drummed hard in my chest as I instantly made a note of that address in my mind. The department could really use this info to bust an international child trafficking ring and if I could get out of here fast enough, I would have a chance to save these children from Boris’s clutches.
The sudden purr of a car’s engine distracted me from my thoughts. A sleek silver Mercedes Benz came to a stop near the mansion’s main doorway. After a few seconds, a man in a white uniform climbed out from the driver’s seat and hurried to open the backdoor.
I sucked in a breath as my gaze fell on one of the most elusive figures in the Sokolov gang. It was Victor Sokolov, the dictator’s heir.
For a moment, I stared at him in a trance, taking in the dark locks of his hair that waved in the breeze. The wintry sunlight falling on his face made it seem like it was carved out of flawless white marble.
He glanced back at the car and that was when I realized he wasn’t alone. His cousin, Alexei Sokolov, was accompanying him in today’s meeting.
The two men were of similar height but the difference in their ages was more noticeable because of Alexei’s stiff stance. His auburn hair was combed backward neatly. While Victor’s gait was relaxed, Alexei looked positively poised to attack someone.
Victor’s gaze roamed all over the courtyard, taking in the recruits gathered there. For the briefest moment, his keen silver-gray eyes met mine.
“Do you like the Sokolov boys?” said a chuckling voice in my ear.
Boris stood uncomfortably close behind me, his breath falling on the back of my neck.
When I didn’t reply, Boris came to stand in front of me, making me lose sight of Victor and Alexei Sokolov. “Don’t worry about it,” he said with a smug grin. “You might just get a chance with the boy in the future. He has a thing for kids who look like you.”
I stared at him but there was no way to detect the expression in the man’s eyes because of his shades. He ruffled the short strands of my hair and walked away toward the direction of the mansion.
I rubbed at my arms to get rid of the chills. The man was a fucking creep. His interest in me was disturbing but being close to him could prove to be very useful.
Right this moment, it was proven Boris was high enough in the ranks to be sitting in meetings with Victor Sokolov. Working under him could directly place me in the same room as Ivan and maybe even, his heir.
I felt a hard knock on my shoulder. A guy with thick, dark stubble shadowing his cheeks loomed over me. He was one of the recruits waiting in the courtyard like the rest of us.
Folding his bulging arms in front of his chest, he asked, “Who sent you here?”
“I used to work for Pete,” I said, looking into his mean beetle-black eyes.
His gaze swept over me from head to foot. “Did he hide your lily-white ass in one of his penthouse suites? Is that how Pavlov knows you?”
My
face twisted into a frown. “It’s none of your business.”
The man’s mouth pressed together in a line as he sucked in a breath, puffing his chest out to make himself look even bigger. I watched him calmly. This guy was at the same level as me. He was just a street-side goon looking for a way into the gang.
“Is the kid giving you trouble?” A second guy joined my bully. Even in this cold weather, the man wore a sleeveless shirt and jacket, displaying the tattoos adorning his thick biceps.
“He thinks he’s something special because Pavlov was sniffing around him,” said the first guy. “I want to pound his pretty face so he can’t bitch his way around the bosses.”
They both cracked their knuckles and stepped closer to me.
I’d have been fucked if I faced such a confrontation three months ago. These thugs had no idea about the hellish training my superiors put me through these past months.
I was ready as the first punch came at me. Ducking down, I smoothly avoided it but made sure to hit the man who attacked me. The resounding crack told me his nose was broken.
With a howl, the first guy stumbled back. “Fucking pussy!” he shouted, clutching his face as blood dribbled down the front of his black t-shirt.
“Your momma’s a pussy,” I retorted back with a smirk.
“Fuck you!” shouted the second man. He flicked his wrist, brandishing a short blade. It glinted in the weak November sunshine.
The courtyard was full of noise now. Everyone gathered around me and my two bullies to watch the skirmish that had broken between us. This was the only source of entertainment for them while they froze our asses here.
All those lessons with Pete and Ethan rose up in my mind. They’d taught me to expect the dirtiest kind of fight with these street-side thugs.
“I’m going to cut up that pretty face real good,” the man threatened me while his friend wheezed and struggled to control the blood streaming down his nose.