by S FEATES
''No darling, nothing's wrong, Jackie is fine I just thought I would welcome you home that's all.'' She had a saucy grin on her face as she justified her being there.
Jackie was wrapping himself around her legs as she stood there talking. I brushed past them both and dropped my overnight bag in the hall.
''What a lovely welcoming committee,'' I said as I turned to hug Sylvie. The apartment smelt of polish and fresh coffee, she had obviously been busy and I suddenly felt very guilty to be abandoning her. But my guilt proved to be unfounded.
''I understand you're moving out Steve.'' Sylvie pouted.
''I ..er..well..'' I was lost for words. Someone had obviously grassed me up and it was only Howard who knew I was leaving.
Sylvie grinned at my discomfort. ''Don't look so worried, I'm not mad at you. It's business and I'm well used to it. You have had a good offer from Howard Saltman and you'd be a fool not to take it. We've had our fun and we knew we were only fuck buddies so no harm done. I am sure we can celebrate tonight with a bottle of red and an early night, let's call it one for the road.'' She winked as she offered the suggestion.
''How do you know Howard?'' I asked, although I had probably already guessed the answer.
''I helped Howard out after he lost his wife. He was a mess and Derek Williams thought that I might be good company for him, so after a bit of cajoling he finally succumbed to my seductive charms and I like to think I saved him from self destruction. Howard never knew at the time but Derek paid me to do it, they were great friends. Howard is a lovely man despite his reputation and the business he is in. He called me earlier to say go easy on you as you were going to move to Richmond and work with him.''
I was relieved that she was taking it so well. So Sylvie knew Derek Williams too, it was certainly a small world I inhabited. I didn't pry into that relationship.
I glossed over it by saying, ''I must admit I wasn't looking forward to telling you Sylv. I love it here, ok the landlady is a bit clingy and desperate but she has a heart of gold.''
The punch to the chest caught me by surprise, ''Cheeky bastard. Clingy! Desperate! I'll have you know I'm neither. I must admit I do the odd bit of charity work when I come across a sad case in need of comfort, that's you by the way, I see it as my gift to society.'' She couldn't maintain the straight face any longer and burst out laughing.
I laughed along with her and said, ''I will pay you rent for the full month obviously.
''Damn right you will, I can't be seen to be a soft touch people will think they can take the piss. I am going upstairs now so prepare yourself for later.'' She turned and headed for the door and as she passed by I slapped her gently on the behind. If looks could kill I would be dead. As Sylvie reached the door she suddenly turned and said, ''by the way I had a call from Tony Nolan, he sounded angry and he wanted to know where you were as he couldn't reach you. I said I didn't now but would pass on the message.'' With that she left.
Shit! What did he want, I hoped that he hadn't discovered that the Siamese cat I had given him was a ringer. If he did I was dead! I decided the best policy was to avoid him for as long as I could.
I had packed all my belongings, which didn't amount to much, ready for my move to Richmond. The furniture in the apartment wasn't mine so I didn't need to worry about that, the rest I loaded into the Audi. I had paid off Sylvie, in money and in kind, we said our goodbyes and she told me not to be a stranger as I climbed into the car and waved. With Jackie curled up in his cage on the passenger seat I drove off towards our new life in the historic town of Richmond.
We settled in our new home very quickly, Jackie seemed to explore every corner of it before settling down to sleep on one of the armchairs. I went down and spoke to Grace, she was pleased to see me and said that she looked forward to working with me. I had another look around the premises to re-acclimatise myself with the layout and then it was down to business. It didn't take me long to get back in the swing of things, the funeral trade had changed very little during the years I had been out of it.
16
Howard and I walked out of the elevator that had opened out onto the top floor of the high rise office block situated close to St Thomas' hospital on the south bank of the Thames and overlooking Westminster bridge. The hall was covered with a thick red carpet and the walls were hung with artwork that looked expensive and old, there was a large blonde haired man in a well tailored suit standing by a pair of solid oak doors, he looked like a body builder and could easily have been a candidate for Mr Universe. Howard nodded at the man who nodded back, he looked me up and down but said nothing. I recognised the slight bulge in his suit just under his left armpit, a gun in a shoulder holster. Howard exchanged a few words with Blondie who then knocked on the door. I was meeting his mysterious associates for the first time and Howard had told me nothing about them so I had stopped asking. There was a vague response from the other side of the doors in a language that I didn't quite catch but Blondie obviously did as he opened the door and ushered us inside.
The room was huge with panoramic windows which looked out over the city of London, on the opposite bank the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben were shrouded in river mist, the day had been cold and damp. Two men were in the room, one sat behind a massive cherry wood desk and the other stood staring out the window watching the traffic on the Westminster bridge. The room, like the hall, was tastefully decorated and the walls were covered in artwork and framed photos of celebrities and sports stars shaking hands with the two men. The two men looked identical and I suddenly realised who they were and it filled me with a certain amount of dread. They were the Nevsky brothers.
The Nevsky brothers Viktor and Dmitry were Russian Oligarchs, billionaires who had accumulated vast wealth during the era of Russian privatisation in the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990's. Many Russian businessmen had taken advantage of the political situation and the Nevsky brothers had imported or smuggled personal computers and jeans into the country and sold them on the black market making vast profits. Much of the Oligarchs wealth was stashed in Swiss bank accounts as well as being invested in property in the worlds capital cities. The brothers had bought large areas of London that were earmarked for development and they had erected luxury apartments and offices in prime areas of the capital. They even purchased a Premier League football club and turned its fortunes around, winning the league title on two occasions. Viktor and Dmitry were ruthless business men, well respected and feared in equal measure, there were rumours that they were part of Vladimir Putin's inner circle which gave them massive influence and power throughout the world. Inevitably there was talk of criminal activity but nothing was ever proven and nobody was brave or foolish enough to bear witness to their crimes. Those who even thought about it quickly disappeared as did their families in most cases. Fear was a great silencer of the truth. One such rumour was that of a Nigerian footballer who had turned down a transfer to their Premier league club. He had publicly denounced the Nevsky brothers as being crooks who were ruining the beautiful game, he was found badly beaten with both his ankles shattered. He never played football again. No wonder Howard didn't give me advance warning of who I would be working for.
''Mr Black, welcome,'' Dmitry stood up and extended his ring encrusted hand towards me in greeting, ''would you like a drink?'' His English was impeccable with a heavy Russian accent. ''We have the finest Vodka this side of the Volga. Or maybe you like your Scottish Whisky no. What is your poison as they say here?''
I nervously shook the hand, his grip was strong and he held my hand for longer than was necessary. He stared at me as we shook hands, getting the measure of me.
''No, thank you. It's a bit early for me. I like to keep a clear head.'' I said hoping he wouldn't be offended.
Letting go of my hand he smiled exposing at least three gold teeth which gave him an even more sinister appearance. Dmitry was slightly shorter than my five foot seven with shoulder length black hair that was slicked down wi
th hair gel giving his hair a glossy wet look. He had a diamond stud in his left ear behind which a dragon headed tattoo peered out above the collar of his handmade silk shirt. I assumed the rest of the dragon tattoo ran down his back. He was a fearsome man.
''Ah a man after my own heart! Very wise Mr Black. I don't drink myself I find it clouds the judgement and in our business, like you say, one needs a clear head. Don't you agree Viktor?''
Viktor, who had remained staring silently out of the window during my encounter with his brother turned to face us. He was identical in appearance and size to Dmitry but he didn't have his passion for jewellery and body art. He was holding in his arms a Siamese cat, stroking it gently.
''Most definitely Dmitry, a cloudy head leads to mistakes. Take this cat for example, the man who sold it to me made an error in his judgement. Whether he had been drinking I cannot say but the piz`da will pay for it with his life.''
Viktor turned back to the window and with one hand he slid one of the panes aside, the rush of cold air made a whooshing sound as it entered the office. He leaned out looking down at the river below as if searching for something, as he watched the boats drifting back and forth along the river he suddenly dropped the cat out of the window staring as it cart wheeled to its death, bouncing off the roof of a red bus as it drove past below. Satisfied that it had hit its mark he closed the window straightened his jacket and walked over to a door set in the wall of the office.
''They lie, cats do not always land on their feet! Excuse me gentlemen I will return shortly.''
I was stunned by his actions, the cat was being lovingly stroked one minute and plummeting to its death the next, the level of cruelty was insane. Howard and Dmitry were oblivious of what Viktor had just done, they were chatting about the miserable weather while the cat was falling. I didn't connect the dots immediately but then it suddenly occurred to me that it couldn't be a coincidence that the cat was a Siamese and Tony had urgently been trying to get hold of me. Was there a connection, was he trying to warn me, but why? he didn't know about my association with Howard Saltman, or did he?
The side door opened before I had time to figure it out. Viktor came back in pushing a wheelchair which contained the slumped figure of a man with a bag over his head. The man's wrists and ankles were tied to the frame of the wheelchair, there was a low groaning sound coming from under the bag.
''Gentlemen may I introduce to you the piz`da who thought he could make a fool of me.'' Viktor pulled the bag off as he made his announcement.
It took me a few seconds to recognise the battered and bruised face of Tony Nolan. His left eye was red and swollen so much that it was closed tight, his face was puffy and also swollen with dried blood all down the side of his face and neck. His bottom lip had a half inch split in it which caused the lip to flap open exposing missing teeth. It must have been extremely painful. Nolan looked around, his one good eye blinking in the strong light it suddenly fell on me and there was instant recognition, he tried to speak but his injuries were too severe. Tears fell down his cheeks at the effort. Viktor lashed out slapping Nolan on the side of the head causing him to cry out in pain. The bag was roughly pulled back down over his head and Viktor wheeled the distressed man back into the side room.
Dmitry turned to me and said, ''Mr Black as you can see my brother is very upset. This man sold him a cat that he said was bred from world champion stock and he paid a great deal of money to him for the privilege. But that cat was not the pedigree that Viktor was lead to believe and he was insulted, now he wants justice. It isn't about the money Mr Black it's about reputation, this man thought that Viktor was a soft touch and that thinking has to be, how do you say? nipped in the bud. If people thought that we could be taken advantage of so easily then our reputation would be worthless and everybody would be chancing their arm,'' Dmitry sat back down behind the desk, '' now... as a test of your loyalty and commitment to our cause we want you to eliminate this worthless piece of derr`mo.''
I didn't know whether the Nevsky brothers knew that I knew Tony Nolan or if they knew that it was me who convinced him of the cat's pedigree. What I did know though was the fact that I had to kill him to save my own skin. I was not averse to doing the hit and I had no pangs of conscience about it, it was business and survival, I was just worried that Nolan had already incriminated me too.
''I will do as you ask Mr Nevsky. I will prove myself to you and there will be no doubting my loyalty, of that I can assure you.''
Howard stepped in at this point. ''May I suggest we put him in the Viano and take him back to Richmond, I will personally oversee Mr Black as he carries out your wishes Dmitry and we will dispose of the body.''
I couldn't believe that Howard was on first name terms with the Russians but then I suppose he had been in business with them for long enough to form a trusted relationship.
''I accept your suggestion Howard and look forward to hearing from you when the contract is fulfilled. As will my brother Viktor. Don't let us down Mr Black, you will be judged on your actions and if successful we will have many years working together. If not well......'' He left the sentence unfinished as a warning that failure was not an option.
Howard and I had taken Tony Nolan still tied in the wheelchair down in the elevator to the underground car park. The elevator was for the Nevsky's own private use and so there was no chance of anyone else getting in on the way down. We pushed the wheelchair to the Viano and lifted it into the back. Nolan was still whimpering under the bag but other than that there was no struggling or shouting from him. We set off for Richmond with Howard driving. He kept glancing at me as we drove, I had not spoken since we had left the office block.
''Are you ok Steve?'' He seemed genuinely concerned.
''Yes, I was just thinking about that cat. How could he do that to a poor defenceless animal?''
''It's another world that they inhabit and they can be cruel to animals just as easily as they are to human beings. Life is black and white to them, there are no grey areas. You should keep that in mind now that you belong to them, it's a good lesson to learn. I would have liked to tell you who my associates were but I knew you would baulk at the idea of joining us and I need you to be involved or I would never be able to get free from their grip. The only reason I can retire is because I have found a suitable replacement and even then I will be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life.'' Even after all these years he was still terrified of the Nevsky brothers.
''I gathered that. What do you know about this poor sod in the back?'' I needed to know if he knew Tony and how deep I was in the shit.
''Me? Nothing. I knew they would have you kill someone as a test of loyalty but I didn't know who or when. This man has obviously crossed Viktor and he will die for it. Viktor is the more dangerous of the two brothers by the way. The man is a psychopath.''
If he was telling the truth I had to hope that he didn't connect the same dots as me when he saw my Jackie. Up till now he hadn't seen my Siamese cat but then again why should he make any connection, lots of people have cats. My only chance of avoiding detection was if I could kill Nolan before he recovered enough from his experience to reveal that he knew me.
''I have no problem killing him, in fact the sooner the better. How am I to do it?''
''Well knowing Viktor he would want him to experience a very painful death but looking at him he has probably suffered enough. I like to avoid unnecessary suffering where possible so I would suggest you give him a large dose of barbiturate to kill him and then we will send him for cremation.''
''I think I should do it as soon as we get back. I would like to ease his pain, it must be agony judging by the extent of his injuries.'' I lied, that wasn't the real reason but I had to sound convincing.
We drove the rest of the way in silence.
Despite being a cat lover it had been easy for Tony Nolan to sell the cats on for a very handsome profit. He had met a Russian diplomat at the Eden club and they had been discussing family pets ove
r a bottle of Bollinger. The diplomat said that a very good friend of his was looking for the perfect present for his wife's birthday and Nolan had suggested the expensive pedigree cats as the perfect gift. He told Sergei Kinsky about the cats world championship winning pedigree and that there were four cats in the litter, three female and one male. Nolan said he had the three female cats in his possession and he was expecting delivery of the male cat very soon. Kinsky made a call and the deal was done, all Nolan had to do was deliver the four cats to Kinsky at the Russian Embassy in Kensington Palace Gardens and he would hand over the cash, all seventy thousand pounds of it. The wife to whom the present was destined was none other than Monika Nevsky and her husband was Viktor Nevsky. Had Nolan known who the buyer was he would have walked away from the deal.
Once Nolan had all four cats he was eager to move them on so he arranged to meet Kinsky two days later. Nolan arrived at the Embassy and asked at the reception to speak to Mr Kinsky saying that he had an appointment with him. The Russian security guards made a thorough search of the cage and the cats, they weren't used to having someone turn up unannounced carrying a cage full of live animals so they were highly suspicious. Kinsky by this time had come down and ushered the security team away assuring them that he knew the man with the cats.
Nolan and Kinsky went up to his office on the second floor and the deal was sealed over a couple of shots of the finest Russian vodka. However the deal soon went south a few days after Viktor had received the cats when out of curiosity and because of his suspicious nature he'd had them DNA tested and discovered that the male Siamese was not related to the three females. Viktor had gone ballistic and ordered that Tony Nolan be found and brought before him. Nolan was abducted that night shortly after leaving the Eden club, he was bundled into the back of a car and driven away at speed. In a basement room he learned firsthand that Viktor Nevsky had a vicious temper and was not a man to cross. Nolan didn't know what hit him and before long he was bleeding profusely and begging for his life. It was a mystery to him as to why Nevsky kept saying that he had tried to take him for a fool and how did he think he could possibly get away with selling him a fake cat. Nolan was confused and the beating didn't help his thinking, he desperately tried to clear his head and work out the reasoning behind the accusation. There had to be some mistake but Nevsky wasn't having it. Steve Black had given him the cat in good faith and he had sold it on under the same illusion, unfortunately for him he didn't get the chance to explain this before Nevsky had beaten him unconscious with a baseball bat. The next thing Nolan was aware of was being wheeled out into a plush office and staring at the face of the man who had dropped him in the mire, Steve Black. Nolan to his credit was not a grass he was, literally, a dying breed and he accepted his fate like the old school villain he was. Anyway deep down he knew that he was a dead man either way and there was no point in taking Black down with him.