by S F Draven
“We’re just going to have to find him and figure that out for ourselves. Do you know what kind of car he drives?” I asked, wondering if there was a way we’d be able to get information on his vehicle unless he was smart enough to already have abandoned it.
He seemed like the type to be incredibly skilled when it came to flying under the radar, especially because he was running an illegal medical practice out of the back of his pharmacy. He was treating criminals all over the country, but even he had spoken so highly about how loyal he always was, and how he never got involved in anyone’s business.
I suppose he saw an opportunity that he just couldn’t refuse. I don’t even have to wonder what any of us would’ve done in that situation because we never would’ve thought about double-crossing someone that we developed a professional relationship with.
Stephan and I looked around the entire office space in the back of the pharmacy, even heading into the room where he had treated me, but everything had been fully cleared out. He knew very well what he was doing when he left to start running, but I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be long before we were chasing him down ourselves.
I fumbled through the papers on his desk, looking through his letters for any addresses that might be useful to us, and I found a few possible hits. Stephan immediately got on the phone with Viktor to let him know what had happened, and he told me that Viktor was already getting a few of his men on the job to see if they could check out any of the addresses that we were able to find.
“He couldn’t have gotten very far. The coffee on this desk is still warm, Stephan. We just missed him,” I said, feeling the ceramic cup, realizing that if we had just left a bit earlier we probably would’ve had the painting back in our possession by now.
“Fuck. It’s okay, you’re right.” Stephan said. “We’re gonna find him, we’re gonna get that painting back, and we’re gonna figure out why he would even want to take it in the first place. Ivan knew guns, he knew medicine but didn’t know the first thing about flipping a piece like that. Chances are he made a deal with someone much more powerful than he is, and that’s where he’s going to take our lovely piece of art.”
It was the only thing that made the most sense, and I was ready to fight yet again to get this painting back for the both of our sakes. It meant too much to us to just let it go, to just move on knowing that someone snagged it right from under us. I wasn’t about to let that happen.
I could already tell that Stephan and I wouldn’t be able to rest easy again until it was safely in our possession because I knew how badly he wanted me to decide what I wanted to do with it. It was a symbol of our future, of everything we fought through to get back to each other even when our future had looked incredibly bleak. I wasn’t going to let it get pawned off on someone that didn’t deserve it, that didn’t risk their lives to protect it the way we did.
We were in the abandoned pharmacy for hours, trying to find a lead, and I heard Stephan’s phone buzz again, already knowing that it was Viktor on the other end of the line, hopefully, ready with some news for us. Stephan had given him a description of the car, and if he had just fled, it was quite possible that we would be able to catch up if he planned on doing a drop-off somewhere nearby.
I listened attentively while Stephan nodded his head on the phone with his brother, taking in every detail he said, while he motioned for me to head back outside, and just like that we heard the unfortunate sounds of sirens begin to ring high in the air.
“The bastard called the cops on us. He knows we’re here, and he knows that we’re in search of the painting, but he has no idea that Viktor’s tech staff just managed to get a hit on his vehicle. If we go now we can catch up with him, but we might have to deal with the cops first,” Stephan said.
“Lead the way.”
Chapter Nineteen: Stephan
I can’t believe that Ivan would do this to us. I know he was angry at me for duping him back when I was running with Eduard and Feliks, but this was the last thing I thought he would do. I wondered how he even managed to find out where I hid it in the first place because even though I had my doubts, I didn’t believe that he would be capable of finding it.
I can’t wait to get face-to-face with him again, so I can ask him why he would do this, why he would jeopardize the future he knew I was planning for the sake of some petty cash.
I was well aware that he wouldn’t know how to flip a piece like that to make the maximum profit because he would have no idea how much it was worth. Annika and I spent weeks finding out everything we could about that painting, and we still weren’t sure if we could go for higher figures. It was such a prized possession, and I wanted it back so I could give it to Annika, so she could have the painting she always dreamed of, but now it had been stolen right from under our noses.
I was fuming at the thought that he was just going to hand it off to someone who probably knew next to nothing about its worth just like he did, coming up with some figures, lying to whomever he was handing it to that it was an offer he couldn’t refuse. He was certainly good at that, but it began to dawn on me that he couldn’t possibly have pulled all of this off himself. He had to have had help in order to know where I hid it, to fish for information, and keep an eye on us the same way Natalia did.
I suppose we had more than one stalker at the time. I should’ve known. I should’ve been smarter about all of this.
I wondered why Ivan didn’t try to get rid of the painting sooner, but I already knew the answer to that question. It probably took him a few days to find someone who would even take the bait, who would even want something like that, and I was trying to think which other one of Ivan’s clients would’ve been helping him track down the piece.
The thought crossed my mind that he had stolen it just to spite me, reminding me that I should’ve never been disloyal to him in the past, but I had been working petty crimes back then, and it was nothing compared to what he had done. The only thing I ever did to Ivan was evade payment after he had given me what I needed to succeed at my job, but I made sure I gave him back everything I owed him over the years, and from what I gathered, he was grateful to receive it all.
So grateful in fact that he got a bit too cocky, deciding that he could steal one of my most prized possessions right out from under me. I’m going to get that painting back for the love of my life so we can finally have the happy ending we’ve been wanting for far too long. I’m not going to rest until that painting is hanging proudly in her gallery, with us both clinking our champagne glasses together on opening night.
I knew how badly she wanted that, even if she was trying to convince me that she had given up the normal part of her life. She was still human, and she still had a dream that was certainly possible no matter what kind of work she was doing in secret. She had been through enough, and this was the one thing that was going to kickstart the rest of our lives, so I had to get it back for her.
She deserved the world, and she was right when she said that painting meant something special to the both of us. It was what brought us together, and it was what nearly tore us apart, and I couldn’t let it slip away knowing that we had a chance to get it back.
“Annika, I have to thank you for being so level headed about this, for not letting me give up looking for it,” I said to her, planting a kiss on her soft lips.
“It’s too important to the both of us to just let it disappear into the wind. If Ivan did double-cross you after you went out of your way to pay him back for the mistakes you made when you were younger, then he certainly has a lot more to answer for than just stealing the painting. When we find him and get it back, we’ll be sure to ask him ourselves,” she said, and I couldn’t wait for that moment.
“There’s no way that he would’ve been able to find out where I hid it without help, especially because he knew that I was always moving it around. That was the very last place I decided to hide it, because I honestly thought that he never would’ve guessed it would be back there ri
ght under his nose,” I said, throwing around a few possible theories as to how he managed to get it out of there, especially because he had no way of knowing the code to the lockbox either.
“If he had help, then we have our work cut out for us, don’t we? I know we just got out of something quite terrible, something that started over this very painting, but I want you to know that I’m stronger now, and we have help. We’re going to get through this without anyone else getting hurt,” she said.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Just a hunch, but you better keep driving. The sirens are starting to die down,” she said, and I smiled, realizing that I had gotten myself the perfect partner in crime. I wouldn’t be giving that up for anything, nor would I ever let anything get in the way of what we were trying to build together.
We’re coming for you, Ivan. You’re not going to be able to hide out for much longer. We’re hot on your trail this time, and I can only hope that your informants issue you a warning because we’re not going to leave until you pay for what you’ve done.
We arrived at an underpass, hearing the cars whirring above us, speeding past, completely oblivious to what was happening right underneath them. I put the car in park, eyeing the glove compartment as Annika reached in and grabbed the two guns that were there. She handed me one and I cocked it back, getting out of the car, making sure she was following close behind me.
We’d been through this so many times that we could read each other’s minds, and no words had to be exchanged when it came to being on the same page. She knew when to react, she knew when to step in, but I was glad that we were both just observing and staying out of sight as much as possible.
I could barely see the exchange that was taking place, and even though I wasn’t sure if Ivan was present, the one thing I was sure of was that the car in front of me certainly belonged to him. I could see that there were two men with their backs turned to us, discussing something at the window of the other car, just before it drove off into the distance.
“Fuck!”
“It’s okay, whoever these guys are, I’m sure they’re going to have the information we’re looking for,” she said, and I agreed.
I looked over at her and nodded, getting my gun ready to take the first shot while she followed suit right after. We hit them both in the kneecaps, watching as they fell to the ground trying to reach for their weapons to protect themselves, but we managed to get close enough to kick them away. I was ready to start interrogating them on the spot, getting ready to bleed them dry of all the information they had, but when I got a good look at both of their faces, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“What the fuck are you two doing here?” I asked, looking down at the two faces I believed I was never going to see again.
“Stephan? Stephan, what are you doing?” asked Eduard, looking incredibly surprised to see me, but it was when he turned to see Annika wielding a gun of her own that he began to put the pieces together.
“What do you think I’m doing here, Eduard? Something tells me that you just got rid of something that belongs to me, and I’m going to need you to tell me where it’s going if you want to save what’s left of your pathetic life,” I threatened.
“Are you talking about the painting that you found the day we did the robbery, Stephan? The day we were supposed to split everything we found right down the middle? Or are you forgetting how these things work?” he asked, even though he was well aware that I wanted out for a long time, that I was tired of the small jobs, and wanted to swim with the sharks for a change.
“I know you well enough to know you would’ve done the very same thing in my position, Eduard. You would’ve kept it to yourself, and I never would’ve learned about its existence,” I said, realizing that none of us knew what the word loyalty meant back then, and we were all just looking out for ourselves.
“You’re right about that, Stephan. That’s why we’ve been tracking you for a while, and I have to say that you really did get yourself in a bit of a mess with everything that happened with that girl’s friend. It’s such a shame that you just had to get caught up in her drama, that you couldn’t see the potential that we would’ve had if we stuck together,” he said.
“You have no idea what you just did, and judging from how empty your car seat seems to be, you didn’t get much money for that painting that’s easily worth a billion dollars,” I said, as the expression on his face dropped.
“What’s the matter, Eduard? Have nothing to say now? You shouldn’t be dabbling in things you have no business sticking your nose in. I fought for a long time to protect that painting, and it was that painting that nearly got Annika killed on many occasions. I’m going to get it back, and you’re going to tell me what I want to know, otherwise I’m going to have no choice but to blow your head fucking off,” I said, and I could see the fear start to creep into his expression as he realized I was serious this time.
“Hey, man. Listen, we just wanted to get even for you not telling us that it existed. We never wanted any harm to come to you,” said Feliks, but it was no use. I knew Eduard enough to know that he was just as greedy as I was.
“I’m not buying it,” I said, shooting them both again in the legs, listening to them cry out, waiting for them to tell me where that other vehicle was headed.
“Okay, okay! Please, we can’t die like this, Stephan. You can’t kill us, not after everything we’ve been through together,” said Eduard.
“Oh, so you’re going to play that card, are you? Well, I need you to answer one question for me.”
“Of course,” said Eduard.
“Were you the ones doing Ivan’s dirty work by following us trying to figure out where I was hiding the painting?”
“Y-yes, it was us,” he replied, and I was getting ready to shoot them both again, but I knew they were already at their tipping point, and it wouldn’t be long before one of them decided to tell me what they knew.
“He said he was going to pay us, he was going to give us a lifetime’s worth of riches, Stephan. We couldn’t pass that up, and we still felt bad for using him all those years ago. You have to understand, this didn’t have anything to do with you at first. Please, you have to let us go,” Eduard said.
“I don’t have to do anything, but I may spare you if you tell me exactly where he was heading. I assume you switched cars,” I said, staring at Ivan’s vehicle waiting right in front of me, while Eduard nodded at me.
“He’s heading to the airport to get on a jet and get out of here. If you want to find him, if you want to find that painting, you’re going to have to go right now,” he said.
“Come on, Stephan. Let’s finish this,” said Annika, placing a supportive hand on my shoulder and I was so grateful that she was there with me.
“I don’t want to see the likes of you two ever again, otherwise I will kill you. Do you understand?” I asked, and they both nodded.
They could already see how much I’d changed, how different I’d become ever since I embarked on this journey, and if we still had been running together, I may have given them inside information eventually, but I was right not to trust them with that kind of knowledge.
They already undersold one of the country’s most coveted paintings, and it hurt my heart to know that we were just a few moments away from losing it forever. I knew that someone like Ivan knew how to go undetected and trying to find him in a crowded airport was not going to be easy, but we didn’t have much of a choice.
Annika and I piled back into the car, driving away from the scene, leaving Eduard and Feliks to deal with their wounds. I was hurt, especially after what I’d done for them, but I knew better than to dwell on it because I had withheld important information from them as well. Though, I never would’ve taken a job to follow them around, to track down something that belonged to them, only to use it against them out of spite. That was the difference between us, and that was exactly why I had to leave when I did.
“We’re going to get to him b
efore he can get out of the country, Stephan. I know you’re fuming right now, but if we’re going to do this, you have to stay focused, okay?” Annika said from the passenger seat.
“You always know how to keep me grounded, Annika. Thank you for being here, thank you for helping me with this. I know it may be hard for you to see me like this, but...”
“We live a dangerous life, Stephan. There’s nothing hard about it. I know what I signed up for, and I know where my loyalty lies. So, you can fume all you want, but we’re going to get to Ivan, and we’re going to retrieve that painting before it's too late. I love you, Stephan,” she said to me.
“I love you so much, Annika,” I replied, taking her hand in mine, kissing it softly while I sped down the road, driving us straight to the airport.
“We’re going to have to be very careful because there are going to be police crawling everywhere. They know what I look like, and they probably have enough information on your family to know to look out for you as well. We’re going to have to keep a low profile, corner Ivan, get what we need and get out,” I explained to her, and she smiled back at me.
“Business as usual,” she replied, and it felt so good to have her right by my side.
We got near the airport, parking the car in the lot, rushing through the automatic doors, looking for a sign of anything that looked out of place. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but I had to hold out hope that we were going to be able to pull it off. We sped through the airport as fast as we could, getting near the security check, and out of the corner of her eye, Annika spotted him.“Bathroom,” she said, and we rushed down to the public bathroom, pushing the door open to see a man standing there with his ball cap covering his eyes, carrying a duffle large enough to contain the painting.
“Going somewhere, Ivan?” I asked, watching him remove his hat, setting it down on the bathroom counter while he stared back at me with the guiltiest look on his face.