Retaliatory Justice

by Tawa M. Witko

  “If you ever disrespect my father again it will be the last thing you do in your pathetic life,” he cocks his weapon, pressing it further into Carmine’s neck. “Our family has run Chicago for decades and we don’t take orders from the likes of you.”

  “You’ve overstepped yourself, boy,” Carmine says calmly, too calmly.

  “I’m not afraid of you,” the kid says, much to his father’s delight.

  Dimitri stands proudly, watching him take charge, watching him put Carmine in his place. Carmine’s lip twists into a deadly sneer and before the kid has a chance to respond the large man Luka has stabbed him in the side. The boy falls to the ground, his hands clutching his side. Dimitri looks down at his son and, without hesitation, pulls out a gun and shoots the large man between the eyes and then points and fires at Carmine. Both men drop to the ground.

  “What the hell did you do?” Enrico screams.

  “Shut up!” Dimitri bellows, pointing his gun at him. “You wanted him dead, now he is.”

  “Not like this, you screwed everything up.”

  Dimitri ignores Enrico and holsters his weapon, but the other men in the room do not. The Russians, Agent Adams, and Enrico’s people are all pointing their guns at one another and I’m panicked. My heart is racing as I watch all of them, frightened that I’m about to be in the middle of a shoot-out, something I am positive I will not survive. Finally, Enrico turns to his people and motions for them to lower their weapons. The Russians, however, still do not. Their guns are aimed at Enrico, Gino, and Aryana. Dimitri kneels, removing his shirt and bunching it up. He presses it against his son’s wound and begins speaking in Russian to him. The son keeps nodding. I can see tears streak the boy’s face as he starts speaking to his father in Russian. I wish I knew what they were saying. Suddenly, the father glowers at Enrico; the sinister expression on his face speaks volumes.

  “If my son dies, every single member of your family will be wiped out. Your entire blood line will become non-existent.”

  “This is not my fault,” Enrico says firmly.

  Dimitri jumps up and suddenly he is holding Enrico by the neck against the wall. “It is your fault. Your man was careless, he let himself get caught, which forced the dark man’s death. The dark man giving her that pendant is your doing, as are the consequences.”

  “We have it under control,” Enrico sputters.

  “WE DO NOT!” Dimitri seethes. “Carmine was supposed to die by Egyptian hands while our hands were to remain clean. Your idiocy forced this!”

  “I can fix it,” Enrico says again.

  Dimitri drops him. “You have no idea how to run a family.”

  Enrico doesn’t respond. Instead, he stares at his dead brother, his dark eyes now lifeless. Enrico looks shocked, but, oddly, not saddened by it. What a messed up relationship those two must have had. I turn back to the kid on the ground. His eyes are closing and he is muttering in Russian. His father turns away from Enrico and goes to him.

  “He needs a doctor,” I say, getting up and kneeling next to the boy. I touch around the boys wound and then look at his father. “It looks like he hit his kidney.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I...” I blow out a breath. “I’m a chef, so I know how to butcher. I know where all the vital organs are. He really needs to get checked out. Is there anyone you trust, because he could die of internal bleeding without immediate medical attention?” I say, pressing down on the bunched-up shirt, trying to control the bleeding.

  Dimitri pauses and nods his head, speaking something in Russian to one of his men. The man gets on the phone and starts talking quickly. Enrico walks over to us and grabs me, tossing me across the room. He then slings me up easily.

  “You tell me everything,” he sneers.

  “What do you want to know?” I ask in a panic.

  “What are the codes for the weapons vault?”

  “Why do you want that?” I ask, trying to drag it out.

  “Mubarak has everything in there, experimental weapons I can’t get my hands on, things that will enable me to truly run everything,” he says, setting me down.

  I am staring at him open mouthed. “All this is for weapons? You killed Phillipe for weapons?” I mutter aghast.

  “Well, he actually killed him,” he says with a sinister grin as he points his thumb in Adams direction. “But it isn’t all about weapons, Ms. Walker. There’s more to it.”

  “You were setting your brother up,” I respond in shock. “Why?”

  “Unlike myself, my brother had no vision, no plan for the future of our family.”

  I stare at him dumbfounded. This man is crazy. He wanted his brother killed and then planned on getting into Mubarak’s vault and getting whatever the heck is in there. I flash to dinner and remember that Valentino’s father had one of the pendant’s I had. Maybe I can give Valentino some answers, if I can get out of this.

  “Valentino’s father figured out that Carmine killed one of Mubarak’s women, didn’t he?”

  “Yes, he did. My brother,” he motions to Carmine’s dead body, “couldn’t get her to talk. We killed her and set the restaurant on fire. We forgot the pendant,” he shakes his head annoyed, “and when we went back for it, it was already gone, locked in police custody. We did some digging and found out who had it. Carmine panicked when he realized that Masterson had the case. Masterson had been trying to arrest him for a decade. He knew he wouldn’t let it go. The man was like a dog with a bone.”

  “You killed a child though,” I say horrified, to which Enrico shrugs, as if what he did was perfectly acceptable.

  “Tell me what I want to know!” he demands.

  “If I tell you, they’ll kill me" I say, shaking my head, hoping he buys it and then add, “And if you kill me, they’ll kill you.”

  His face morphs again and he grabs me, tossing me out of the way and then turns to where Gino and Aryana are. “Force her, make her tell me what I want to know.”

  Gino smirks and then Aryana gets a crazy look on her face. My life is over. I have run out of time. They start approaching me and out of the corner of my eye I see Dimitri motion his hand in my direction. Soon, the two big men are in front of me, blocking Gino and Aryana. Aryana looks like she is about to scream, shocked that someone had the audacity to stop her. Enrico turns back to me and then looks at Dimitri, who is eyeing him angrily.

  “We must wait,” Dimitri says calmly.

  “NO!” Enrico yells.

  “Our meeting is in less than an hour. We do not have time,” he pauses when he hears a knock on the door.

  Dimitri turns to Adams and narrows his eyes. Adams looks at Enrico for direction. He hesitantly nods and motions his head toward the door.

  “Let em in.”

  Adams goes to the door and opens it. I man walks in with a small case in his hands. I presume he is a doctor. I move to the couch as it’s clear I have been given a reprieve. As I sit down, I notice that Aryana and Gino are watching me. They are like two deadly creatures waiting to feast on me, waiting on word from their master that its time, waiting for their hunger to be quenched. Valentino, where are you?

  ~*~

  The car is crowded. Dimitri has me riding with him and his men. For some reason, he seems to want to keep an eye on me. Enrico didn’t trust him though, so he had Adams ride with us. Dimitri is staring out the window, smoking a cigarette. He never changed shirts, so he sits there in a white undershirt and dress slacks. He looks lost in thought and I want to say something but I can feel Adam’s eyes on me, so when he speaks it doesn’t really surprise me.

  “These are not people to be playing games with,” Adams says nonchalantly, drawing my attention away from Dimitri.

  “Don’t talk to me,” I reply with disdain.

  He laughs. “You won’t be able to fool the Egyptians, Ms. Walker.”

  “I can’t wait until Valentino finds you,” I say crossing my arms.

  “I’m not afraid of Agent Masterson,” he says,
checking his weapon.

  “I would be if I were you,” I counter.

  He laughs again. “Do you have any idea how difficult that shot was to kill De la Fosse and not you as well? I am an expert marksman. I could hit a man from anywhere before they had a chance to protect themselves.”

  “That’s nothing to be proud of,” I turn away from him.

  He starts to say something else but Dimitri turns to him. His face hard and angry. “Shut up before I kill you myself and deny this Valentino person the opportunity to do so.” Adams closes his mouth, frowning as he turns away from us. Dimitri stares at me, like he’s seeing through me. “I can see why he is searching for you.”

  I start to say something but he turns away, back to looking out the window. I suppose his mind isn’t with me, but his son. We left him with the doctor, he was still alive and hopefully he stays that way. Although, it was kind of funny to watch Dimitri holding a gun to Enrico’s temple the entire time the doctor was working on his kid. Dimitri was obviously not joking about wiping out the Sicignano bloodline should his son die. We pull up to a warehouse and Adams yanks me out, twisting my arm behind me and pointing his gun at the back of my head.

  “Come on,” Adams whispers close to my ear. “I can’t wait to see you try and talk your way out of this.”

  I try to glance at him but I can’t. He pushes me through the building where we meet Enrico, Gino and Aryana, along with several other people I don’t know. Hamadi Mubarak, Mkhai, and the man named Kafele are there with several other men as well. As we step inside, several Russian men approach Dimitri. Few words are said, and those that are, cannot be understood by those present. Jesus! This looks like an episode of Gangland. This can’t be good. Enrico stands in front of his people and faces Hamadi. Hamadi and his people watch as Adams brings me, his bargaining chip, next to Enrico.

  “Give her to us,” Hamadi states firmly.

  “Let us talk costs,” Enrico replies smoothly.

  “We are to do business with Carmine. Where is he?”

  “He couldn’t make it,” Enrico says without any remorse whatsoever. “I am in charge. You deal with me.”

  Mubarak turns to Dimitri. “Is this true?”

  “Let us see what you’ve brought us,” Dimitri states, walking towards the crates and ignoring the question.

  “First, the girl, and then we deal,” Hamadi states firmly as his men pull out weapons, halting Dimitri’s movement.

  “We did not harm her,” Enrico motions his head to Adams who starts walking me over to Hamadi.

  “Show time, Ms. Walker,” he snickers in my ear.

  He lets go of me and I panic for only a moment, and then realize that this is going to be my only chance. As Mubarak moves me behind him, I take this opportunity to protect myself as best as I can.

  “Enrico admitted that they killed her and blew up the restaurant to cover it up. Carmine lied, blamed the other family. They cannot be trusted.”

  Hamadi, Mkhai, and Kafele stare at me before they draw their weapons once more. Everyone is pointing guns at one another. This is the second time in the span of an hour where I am in the middle of a possible shootout. Adams stares at me with this shocked look on his face and all I can do is smile victoriously at him. Well, I figured that was all I had to offer. If it kept me protected, I had to use it.

  “Is this true?” Mubarak demands of Enrico.

  Enrico glares in my direction as I duck further back, positioning myself behind all the men and the crates of what I would presume are some type of weapon.

  “That was my brother’s doing and I have taken care of it.”

  “This meeting is over,” Mubarak states, motioning to his men who immediately start moving to the crates.

  “Give me what I want,” Enrico states eerily as he cocks his gun at Mubarak’s head.

  All hell is about to break loose. I am standing in this room full of mob men, stunned. Hamadi looks at Mkhai and Kafele before shifting his position away from Enrico. Several men jump in front of Enrico and shield him as do Mubarak’s people. There is a lot of movement as guns start firing and people start falling left and right. People are dying right in front of me and I am frozen momentarily. I can’t think or respond as shock envelopes me. I shake my head and swallow thickly, gaining my composure, just in time to see Adams approaching me.

  “Don’t you come near her,” I hear Valentino say fiercely from behind me.

  Tears streak my cheek as I feel his hand on my shoulder, pulling me behind him. Adams does not lower his weapon.

  “She really touted your abilities, Agent Masterson,” Adams says, lowering his weapon and smiling cockily. “So why don’t we do this the old-fashioned way.”

  “Let’s not,” Valentino replies and fires.

  He shoots him in the shoulder, and when Adams reaches for his gun with the other hand, Valentino shoots his hand, causing him to drop his weapon. Adams stumbles and falls on his knees, screaming out in pain as Valentino walks towards him.

  “Just kill me,” Adams sputters.

  “No, you will face your crimes, you traitor,” he says through clenched teeth and then hits him with his gun, knocking him out.

  Valentino turns to me and I run up to him, wrapping my arms around him. “Are you all right?”

  I nod as he kisses my head lightly before turning around, pulling me behind him again. “ATF, drop your weapons!” he shouts.

  People start scattering as I see Clayton, Jeff and Zach enter from various directions, leading several other agents inside, all bearing weapons at everyone. Gino and Aryana slip out a back door with Enrico following close behind. Valentino pauses for a moment and I push him.

  “Go, Valentino, he can’t be allowed to leave.”

  He nods and takes off, he fires and Enrico drops to the ground, clutching his leg.

  “Screw you, Ness,” Enrico hisses, pulling out his gun and firing in Valentino’s direction.

  Enrico’s aim is off though and the bullet whizzes by him. He begins firing at Enrico several more times, leaving Enrico twitching on the ground until his body stills, death overtaking him. He turns to Jeff and starts shouting, soon Jeff is running in the direction that Gino and Aryana went. Valentino is barking orders at everyone as people are being handcuffed and read their rights. I then see him walk to Dimitri, who is also handcuffed. He un-cuffs him and then his men, who hadn’t even tried to escape, choosing to stay with Dimitri. Now that’s loyalty! Dimitri nods before turning to me, smirking. I smile and watch him and his men walk out of the warehouse as if they ruled the world. A man in a suit starts approaching Valentino, yelling at him as he watches the Russian’s exit the premises. Valentino shakes his head, ignoring the man in the suit and making his way back to me.

  “I thought I lost you,” his voice is soft but I can hear the relief in it.

  “I love you, Valentino,” I whisper as my arms wrap around his neck.

  I feel his sharp intake of breath as he pulls me tighter against his chest. “I love you, too, Dominique,” he whispers in a shaky voice.

  33 Justice Fulfilled

  Valentino Masterson

  August 5th

  “Agent Masterson, can you tell me why the hell Dimitri Komarovski is walking out of this warehouse without being accompanied by federal agents,” Anderson bellows as he approaches Dominique and me.

  I sigh and run my hand over Dominique’s hair, pausing when I feel a bandage. “What happened, Dominique? Did someone hit you?” I ask, touching her scalp gingerly.

  “I don’t know,” she mumbles against me, holding me tighter.

  I move my hand to the side of her face, making her look at me. I can now see the light discoloration of a bruise that’s starting to form on her cheek. My face hardens as I trace the outline. Someone hit her there. I breathe in deeply, trying to control my anger.

  “Enrico did that when I told him you would find me and when you did he’d be dead,” she says, glancing towards his body. “I was right.”

&nbs
p; “Dominique…” I start to explain, not wanting her to think less of me for what I did but she turns around and cups my cheek.

  “He was crazy, Valentino. You did the right thing. He would have hurt so many people.”

  I nod. “I need to know what happened. Was Carmine with you as well?”

  She nods. “But he’s dead.”

  My eyes widen.

  “He’s dead?” Anderson asks next to me, looking equally shocked.

  “Yes, he’s dead.” Dominique pauses and looks down at the ground before muttering, “Enrico killed him.”

  “Enrico? Enrico killed his brother?” I ask astonished. I didn’t think Enrico had it in him.

  She is looking anywhere but at me as she nods. She’s holding something back. Why? “Dominique, I’m sorry, baby, but I need to know everything.”

  She nods, still not looking at me. “I know.”

  I glance at some of the ATF agents who are taking pictures of the items in the crates. Each one contains what looks like a dozen modified assault rifles. Another box is opened and I see that they are pulling out some objects I haven’t seen before. They look sort of like chemical warfare types of instruments. That gets Anderson’s attention and he heads over there, telling me to interview Dominique.

  “Enrico killed Carmine?”

  She frowns and shakes her head.

  “Then who did?”

  She sighs. “Dimitri did, but he had reason,” she says, looking up quickly. “Carmine had that big guy stab his son, so Dimitri shot that guy and then shot Carmine for having it done.”

  “Luka stabbed Aleksei? Is Aleksei dead?”

  She shrugs. “He was alive when we left.”

  “Okay, now that makes sense to me.” I shake my head. “Carmine is stupid. He should have expected immediate retaliation. The Russians don’t hesitate, especially Dimitri.”

  “Dimitri helped me, Valentino. He tried to protect me. If it weren’t for him I would be dead. At first, I wasn’t sure why he did it, but seeing you let him go makes me believe he was helping you,” she says with tears.