Russev stroked his face. “It took me years to build up my business. And in one night, everything threatens to collapse. Just like that. But you’re finally going to correct that, Administrator!”
With that, he glared at Ahrend as if he wanted to peel the skin off his bones with his gaze alone.
Ahrend smiled arrogantly. “You set it all up? Honestly? Who really turned what you built into money? And gave everything a veneer of legality, so to speak? If it weren’t for me, you’d be just another temporary gangster.”
Russev struck. Hard, so that blood immediately spurted from Ahrend’s nose and even splashed Anna.
Ahrend’s face turned almost as red with anger as it did from the blood. “You stupid asshole! You...”
“Don’t you dare do that again!” Russev said. “My patience has been tested long enough!”
Just then, a man came and placed a laptop on the table.
Russev’s eyes remained fixed on Ahrend. “I know you’re both involved in this, and I’m sure Ms. Kerkov can be of assistance if you’re not.”
Ahrend’s eyes grew wide. Russev might get the idea that he didn’t need him anymore. But that lasted only a moment. Then he laughed derisively again.
“Her? Why her?”
Russev looked at Anna. “Can you fix it?”
Anna swallowed. “If I have full access to the files...”
“And she doesn’t have that,” Ahrend grinned. “Only I have that.”
Russev smiled. “That’s good to know. So why didn’t you do anything about it? Weren’t you going to send your men out and take care of it?”
Ahrend looked at Russev in irritation. “My men?” Then he laughed. “Yes, that fits. After all, it’s me who pays them. After all, I manage all the money.”
Russev smiled. “Yes, however, you manage it. More than was actually intended, wasn’t it? Don’t you have a lucrative side business going with Sergey? Isn’t he also in your service, supplementing his coffers a bit?”
Ahrend’s eyes flashed and Russev’s face got a little wrinkle of anger on his forehead. “And do you think you could threaten me with them? Sergey may do business with you too, that’s okay. But he couldn’t protect you when my men, who are subordinate to me and only me, dragged you here. And Sergey couldn’t help you either when it came to eliminating the problem.”
Russev closed his eyes. “This ends today and here. You will fix all this and then we will part ways. Forever.”
Ahrend was so perplexed that he could only nod. Russev nodded as well, stepped aside and pointed to the laptop.
“Then please.”
Ahrend swallowed again and looked helpfully at Anna, who also just looked at him, frightened.
“It can’t be done from here,” Ahrend tried to explain.
Russev laughed. “Don’t worry about the connection. It’s top-notch here.”
Ahrend shook his head as if he were dealing with a silly little boy. “All the files are on the computer at the branch. But on top of that, there’s no connection. You have to get to it to be able to do anything.”
Because Russev’s gaze became piercing again, Anna nodded. “He’s telling the truth. For all safety, everything is stored only there and can be changed only from there.”
Ahrend smiled with disdain. “Do you think I’m stupid enough to make the files accessible to everyone? It might be a little inconvenient that way, but it’s also much safer. Always has been.”
Russev looked at him. Anna realized that he would like to punch Ahrend again, but held back. As long as he didn’t know if he didn’t really need it, he had to practice patience. And it wouldn’t help her if she affirmed that she could manage everything just as well as Ahrend, even better. Right now, as much as she couldn’t grasp this, Ahrend and his, as always, shitty behavior was the best way to ensure the survival of them both. The night had gone so disastrously that Russev could not afford any more mistakes. From that point of view, everything could still turn out for the better. With a little luck, it would be all over tonight.
Russev finally nodded, appearing again like the sympathetic nice Russe that perhaps he really was in the right situations. “All right. Then we’ll go to the branch.”
Anna bit her lip, but then spoke. “Isn’t it under surveillance?”
Russev looked at her with a look as if he were looking at a cockroach. For a brief moment he was silent, seeming to consider whether to answer her, the woman at all. “That’s settled. There will be no police there.”
Ahrend smiled wryly. “And then? What’s going to happen then?”
Russev’s eyes flashed. “They’ll take my money away and erase all the clues and data on the computer. Because the police will show up. Not now. But during the course of tomorrow, for sure.”
Then he spread his arms. “Instead, cheer this Turk up and make it all look like he embezzled. I don’t care how you do it, but there should be no more reference to me or your side businesses there. We’ll see how it goes from there. Let the grass grow over it. Who knows. But for tonight, I want everything out of here. Got it?”
Ahrend took a breath and shook his head. Then he snorted contemptuously.
He was about to say something when everyone heard audible noises.
Anna listened. Yes. Unmistakable.
“What’s that?”
Ahrend laughed and shook his head again. “Well, fabulous. I always thought you were more subtle than that.”
Anna saw how Russev’s words infuriated Ahrend, but he held back. Unless Ahrend had another ace up his sleeve, Russev would surely kill Ahrend today, once he had done what Russev wanted. Anna just had to make sure it didn’t hit her too and take the chance when it did.
Russev walked over to one of his men and whispered in his ear. “Contact Sergey.”
The man hesitated. “Is that wise?”
Russev slapped him against the chest. “Are you going to tell me what is smart and what is not? He started this shit, then let him finish it. I want him here. Now! And tell me what the fuck is going on!”
Anna had a hunch.
Ben watched the factory. He still knew it from the time when it was in operation. But that was not for long. And when it was shut down, it was of course the perfect place for young people to retreat, have unsupervised parties and engage in tests of courage. For Ben, above all, it was a retreat where he could also train in peace and quiet, just as he had always learned to do.
He didn’t need any expensive, special training equipment to do this. He trained alone with the help of his own body weight. This did not isolate individual muscles, but trained them together, in correct movement sequences. This helped him to remain more supple in his movements, which made him move as naturally as possible during his parkour runs through the factory grounds.
Mo had always called him crazy. He preferred the ambience of a gym, which also gave him the opportunity to pick up girls. But Ben didn’t feel like doing that, which Mo had never quite understood.
Ben had been here many times and knew the whole place like the back of his hand. It was also unlikely that anything had changed over the years, with the exception that there were now some men wandering around, armed, and looking as if they were guards.
Ben had been surprised to actually find several cars when he left the forest. Matteo’s car proved to be the least conspicuous, being an older Golf, where one had to look several times to see that the facade did not match the interior.
In the trunk, Ben also found an unopened first aid kit, which he used to care for his wound. This would be fully sufficient for the next few hours, so he would not have to worry about it until he had freed Anna.
He would have preferred to drive directly to the factory at full speed. But this would have attracted too much attention. He decided to park the car at a safe distance and then set off on foot.
Once he had established that he was most likely in the right place, he crept up cautiously. The compound was not exactly small and the buildings large and winding.
Anna could be held anywhere. There were no clues as to where.
Taking out each of the guards one by one if possible still seemed like the most feasible course of action, except that it wouldn’t get him to Anna fast enough. Who knew what kind of person this Russev was and what he intended to do with her?
Ben looked around. What options did he have? Finally, a risky plan developed in his mind, which spoke against everything he actually wanted to do. But it was the only solution. And perhaps a huge mistake.
He waited until he spotted some of the guards. Then he fired far away next to them. Immediately, all sorts of firearms were swung in his direction.
Ben visibly tossed his weapons away.
“I’m unarmed!” he shouted. “And I have information for Russev that I’m sure he wants to hear!”
Then he stepped out from his cover with his hands up.
Russev looked at Ben and looked him straight in the eye. “So you’re the one who is causing us so much trouble,” Russev stated. “You and that Turk. Quite amazing.”
Ben remained motionless, simply looking straight ahead. The men had taken him straight to Russev and, as he had hoped, Anna was with him, unharmed. She looked at him with a stunned expression, as if he were a ghost.
Ahrend narrowed his eyes. “Aren’t you the guy who was going to apply for a job with us? Ben Becker or something?”
Ben remained unmoved as Russev looked back and forth between him and Ahrend. Then he laughed. “Another banker like that? And you killed all my men? Man, you guys seem to be learning very different stuff in your banker school than I actually suspected. What good is that? In a bank robbery? Can you go Bruce Willis and kill everybody? I’m impressed.”
Russev threw his arms in the air, then exhaled in resignation. “Maybe this is all a sign that I should retire.” He shook his head. “Sergey, put him down. But nice and slow, I want him to get something out of this and bitterly regret ever getting in our way. By doing that, you might make up for some of the mess we have here because of you, too.”
The man smiled. His wounds had been treated and bandaged, but you could clearly see that Mo had taken a lot out of him. “Then I will kill at least one of you tonight. After all, your friend had refused to die. He put up a brave fight and really surprised me. Tough guy. He just wouldn’t give up. Heard it took several bullets to finally take him down.”
Ben’s eyes glinted with anger and he clenched his fists.
Russev shook his head. “Under different circumstances, I’d like to see the fight. Sergey against someone who wants to avenge his friend – that sounds promising. Unfortunately, we don’t have time for that. So just finish him off.”
Sergey smiled and was about to walk towards Ben when Anna cried out.
“You can’t kill him!”
Russev showed surprise. “Why not?”
“There’s a cell phone. There could be evidential material on it, and he hid it.”
Russev looked at Ben. “Is that so? Interesting.” Then he looked back at Ahrend. “You see? That’s what I mean. Everything has become totally complicated. All it took was a cell phone, and already your computer, which isn’t connected to anyone else, is worth nothing.”
Then he turned to Ben. “You haven’t made any copies, have you?”
Ben’s expression remained unchanged. “There’s only the cell phone. Mohamed Aslan handed it over to me. There is evidence on it that links Ahrend to you.”
Russev took a breath. “Of course. I guess it wouldn’t do any good to torture you into telling us where that cell phone is.”
“I’d like to try,” Sergey agreed. “Or we could torture the bitch.”
Anna looked in horror at Russev, then at Ben, and finally at Sergey.
Russev looked at Sergey as well, then waved him off before turning back to Ben. “No. This is all taking too long. I mean, I don’t like such methods. Sometimes I have no choice. You have to show strength, you understand.
“I have my men for dirty work and stuff. Sergey here. But I actually have them so I don’t have to use them. As a deterrent. That kind of thing helps. Well, there are some stubborn ones, you do have to let them off the leash, but not that often.” With that, he pointed at Ahrend. “Our friend here had quite different plans. I never liked them, but unfortunately, I let it happen. That was my mistake and now I have to pay for it.”
He took a breath. “So how can we shorten this thing?”
“I just want Anna. Her and my life against the cell phone.”
Russev nodded. “That’s a good match. I had plans for her anyway, assuming she stays alive. That brings us to you. You are an interesting young man with many talents. Talents to make things difficult for me once again. But also talents that could prove useful. So I am very much inclined to take you up on your offer.”
Ben looked Russev in the eye. Then he nodded.
Russev laughed and patted Ben on the shoulder. “Very good. Then let’s see about getting to that damn computer so we can finally put this whole business to rest.”
Ahrend looked angrily at Russev. “And what about me?”
Russev acted surprised. “What about you?”
“Well, I’m part of the deal, aren’t I? If you have the phone and I’ve done everything like you said, I get to go too!”
Russev gritted his teeth. Then he nodded in Sergey’s direction. He approached Ahrend and pulled out a knife.
“Hey, what the fuck?” shouted Ahrend, looking back and forth between Sergey and Russev in disbelief.
“But just a lesson,” Russev said, and Sergey turned Ahrend’s right hand around and cut across his palm. Ahrend cried out loudly, to which Russev shook his head in annoyance. Immediately Sergey put the knife to Ahrend’s throat, whereupon the latter fell silent.
“He likes it quiet.”
Ahrend bit his lip and then nodded. Sergey cleaned the blade on Ahrend’s undershirt and put the knife away and his hands in his pockets as he stepped aside again.
With an expression between anger and pain, Ahrend looked at his hand with blood running down it. “Shit, how am I supposed to type now?”
“Oh, I think Mrs. Kerkov can certainly help with that,” Russev replied. “Just think of it as familiarization. And if you do everything to my satisfaction, then maybe I’ll refrain from allowing Sergey to cut you into little slices, starting with her tail.”
Ahrend looked at Russev and for the first time Anna really recognized uneasiness in him.
“What is that?” suddenly one of Russev’s men said, pointing to a small square object on the table. This had begun to vibrate and a narrow light had come on at the top. Russev lifted the object and looked at it with amusement. Since it was obviously from Anna’s backpack, he held it out to her.
“What is this? A pocket bomb? Am I not allowed to let go of this now or I’ll blow up?”
Anna smiled. “No. This is a pager.”
Russev smiled. “Cute. It says ‘ready to go.’ What does that mean? Is there a police task force waiting outside?”
Russev laughed. His men, except for Sergey, did the same.
Anna smiled. “Police? No, I don’t think so. If you would press the button, please.”
Russev raised his right eyebrow in surprise. He kept his eyes on her. “Boris? Gun!” He ordered, without taking his eyes off Anna, who met his gaze.
Boris handed the pistol to Russev, who pointed it at Anna. She continued to remain unimpressed. “I hope for your sake that no police show up here in a minute.”
Russev pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
Everyone listened, but nothing could be heard.
Anna continued to look Russev in the eye.
Inaudible to most, Ben heard a noise.
When the head of his guard exploded to his right, he dropped to the ground. By then the face of another was torn away and blood splattered everywhere.
Ahrend screamed. “What the fuck is this!”
Two more of Russev’s men went down
, hit by multiple bullets.
Russev looked around and saw Sergey pointing his pistol, smoking from the silencer, at him with a smile. Russev looked at Sergey in disbelief, then back at Anna. Anna smiled as well. Russev’s face turned red.
“You...!”
Before Russev could pull the trigger, he felt the hot silencer of Sergey’s gun near his forehead. Sergey stood beside him smiling and shook his head to put his free hand on Russev’s gun and take it from him.
“Sergey, what are you doing?” hissed Russev, but otherwise did not move.
Sergey shrugged his shoulders. “As they say here: Whose bread I eat, whose song I sing.”
With his hands raised, Russev walked back. His eyes glinted and remained fixed on Sergey. “How could you? I trusted you!”
Sergey kept the pistol pointed at Russev. “That’s right. But the Administrator simply made me a better offer. As you said, men like me only serve as a deterrent. But on the free market my skills are in great demand. I also have to think about my future. And I see it somewhere else. So does everyone.”
Russev looked at Ahrend. “You dirty asshole!”
Ahrend looked back in amazement. “Hey, I don’t know what this guy is talking about. I invested some money for him and others without clearing it with you, yes. But what fucking contracts he’s talking about, I don’t know. What the fuck is going on here?!”
Sergey smiled and went next to Anna’s chair. There, without taking his eyes off Russev, he bent down and cut Anna’s bonds.
Smiling, Anna stood up and rubbed her wrists.
“What the fuck is this?!” hissed Ahrend again.
Russev’s eyes narrowed. “You’re the Administrator.”
“What?! No, no, no, I am! I’ve been managing all your accounts. The stupid bitch can’t get anything done!”
Anna took a breath, picked up Sergey’s knife, and without warning jammed it between Ahrend’s legs. As he screamed, she looked deep into his eyes and twisted the knife.
Ultimate Rage - Ragnarok (Thriller) Page 12