The older one pointed over the cross street. “He’s probably going straight towards Shkolnaya Ulitsa,” he said. “If he was going to turn he would have done it by now. Stay on the left and I’ll stay on the right.”
“Should I follow him?”
The older man shook his head. “Too risky. You don’t want to be seen. We’ll catch him on the other side.”
The younger man nodded and raced back across the street, dodging the light traffic.
The older man clicked the Call button on his cellphone. It wouldn’t hurt to send a few men north and south, just in case.
He gave his orders, disconnected the call, cursed again, and ran up the ramp to the cross street.
Nick stopped at the kiosk where he had purchased the scarf. There was a large rack of scarves, gloves, shirts, bags, and anything else they could make for the Moscow football club. Nick walked around it, discreetly looking back at the entrance to the tunnel. A few women, a few kids. Nobody who looked related to Alexander.
The kiosk owner glanced at him silently as Nick fingered a hat. He gave her a smile, then headed toward the light, back where he had come from.
Anya was in her red Lada on the side of the small KFC parking lot. She saw Nick as he approached from the front. Her relief was plainly visible through the tinted windshield.
She unlocked the passenger side door and he slid in. She locked it behind him.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
Nick didn’t answer. Instead, he reached into the glove box and pulled out Dmitri’s cell phone. He opened the contacts and quickly scrolled down. He didn’t have to go far before he found the name he hoped he wouldn’t see.
Lips pursed, he showed the screen to Anya. She looked confused as she scanned the names. Then her eyes widened.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered. She sat back in her seat, stunned. Then she abruptly smashed a closed fist against the steering wheel. She yelled something in Russian. Nick assumed it was an expletive.
She turned back to him quickly. “I had no idea,” she said. The tears began to flow freely down her face.
Nick put his hand on her leg. “I know, Anya. I never thought you did.”
“That fucking Andrei,” she said bitterly. “He’s a dead man.”
“Not until he gives me back my daughter,” Nick said.
Chapter 34
Bocharova wasn’t surprised, and he wasn’t angry. Setbacks happened all the time. He already had Plan B in motion. He always started working on Plan B as soon as Plan A was in action. He didn’t become concerned until he had to work on Plan C, and fortunately that was rare since Plan B typically took care of the problems of Plan A.
“Where are you now?” he said into his phone. It was a land-line, which he favored over cell phones. His technical people kept telling him that his cell phone was secure, but there was always that nagging doubt. Plus, he preferred the solid stability of his Binatone. He always felt as if he was going to crush a cell phone, especially when confronted with Plan C.
“I’m on the bridge, watching the west exits,” the voice said. “I sent Makar to watch north. That’s all we can cover.” The tone was unapologetic. Alexander had drilled into his men that you don’t worry about setbacks, you just move on. Plan B.
“Good,” Alexander replied. “Stay there another five minutes. If he doesn’t show, come back here. With a head start, you’ll never find him.” He ended the call and motioned to Popravko.
“They lost Wallace. Tell Alexei to hurry with the parking lot video. I want to know how Wallace got here.”
“We should kill him,” Anya said again as she fought traffic on prospekt Siversa, heading towards the Don. They hadn’t talked about where to go or what to do yet, but both knew they had to get away from Alexander’s offices. So she drove.
Nick watched the cars around him without replying for a moment. Most seemed to be large trucks, their cargo hidden by dirty canvas, smoke spewing from their tailpipes. The dirt and the sound of engines racing through gears made for a lively but unhealthy atmosphere. The rancid smell of exhaust filled the car, even though they had the air conditioner on high.
“Once I’m holding Nonna again, you can do with him what you want,” he said.
“We’d be doing him a favor, you know,” Anya replied without taking her eyes from the road. “When papa finds out about this, he’ll tear Andrei apart.”
Nick didn’t reply.
She glanced at him quickly, then back to the road. “My father has done some things that are…morally flexible, I know. In fact, a lot of them, for most of his life. But a person’s word is very important to him.”
“Papa doesn’t like liars?”
“No, papa doesn’t like liars. Especially people who lie to family.” She glanced at him again. “Or friends. Or even colleagues.”
She whipped into the left lane and passed a particularly noxious truck, then slid smoothly back into the middle lane.
“How did you realize it was Andrei?” Anya asked.
“It was something Bocharova said. He told me I did a good job taking down Dmitri’s empire. He said normally he’d be pissed off, but I was doing him a favor. The thought popped in my head, who else would benefit from this? And boom, it came to me.” He sighed. “I should have seen it a long time ago.”
Anya shook her head. “That bastard,” she mumbled again. They drove in silence for a few minutes until Anya looked at him again.
“Andrei’s father is dead,” she said.
“I didn’t know that.”
“He died when Andrei was young. He was never any good. Drank a lot, hit Andrei’s mom.” She shook her head. “I think if the old drunk hadn’t froze to death one night, Andrei would have killed him eventually.”
Nick nodded.
“So papa took him in, gave him a job.”
“As an enforcer?”
She shook her head. “Not at first. Andrei was still pretty young so he worked in papa’s warehouse for a while.”
“Papa has a warehouse?”
Anya smiled. “Papa has lots of things. He has a big warehouse down by the river. Barges bring in the stuff and he turns around and transports it to…wherever.”
“Papa has his fingers in a lot of pies.”
“Yep. But anyway, papa wasn’t sure if Nadezhda—that’s his sister, Andrei’s mom—wanted Andrei to learn the, uh, family business. But Andrei wanted in, and after a few years he became an enforcer. He did well, and it wasn’t because he was papa’s nephew. He had a good way about him. He was strong but was willing to work with people.”
“You know, you’re talking about him in the past tense.”
She thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, I guess I am. I suppose we’ll have to get used to that now.”
“Would you really kill him?”
“Not without papa’s blessing, which I don’t think will be a problem. But we need to talk to Andrei first.”
“I know. I need to get Nonna back. Nadia’s coming back from Kiev today. She’s going to want to meet with me.”
“You know, Nick,” Anya said slowly. “This is getting bigger than just Nonna. We’ll do what we can to get her back, of course, but if Andrei was planning to screw Bocharova, things could get bad.”
“If Andrei doesn’t tell me where my daughter is, I’ll guarantee things will get bad,” Nick replied. He stared hard at Anya’s ear but she didn’t turn to meet his gaze.
She shut the car off. Nick could see the Andrei’s candy store down the block. “Wonka’s” glared brightly out at him.
“I’ll never be able to watch that damn movie again,” Nick muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing, never mind.” He looked across at her. “Please don’t shoot anybody.”
She smiled grimly. “No guarantees.”
“I’m serious, Anya,” Nick said. “If you can’t calm your ass down, we’ll sit in this car all day.”
She looked at him. Her eyes were bright, from anger or
reflected tears he wasn’t sure. Probably both. Her knuckles were white where she gripped the steering wheel. Nick knew it would take a big effort to talk her down enough to see Andrei.
“I notice you’re not upset,” she said, almost accusatory.
“Oh, I’m pissed as hell,” Nick said. “But if I thought losing my temper and putting holes in Andrei would help, I’d be through his door by now, Glock-first. But we need to reason with him, make him realize what a mess he’s in and help him get out of it.”
She frowned. “I think it’s too late for that now.”
“Let’s try.”
She looked away.
“Please?”
She looked back. “Fine,” she said. “We’ll talk to him first, try to help him. But if it doesn’t work…” She left the threat unspoken.
“Deal. You ready?”
“No,” she said. “But the more I sit in this car listening to you, the angrier I’m going to get. So let’s just do it.”
Nick felt relief with the victory. But as soon as it came, it left again when he realized what they were about to do: confront the man who had stolen his daughter.
He sighed heavily, felt for his Glocks, and got out of the car. He was afraid Andrei’s candy store would soon hear its first gunshots.
The chime rang as they walked through the door of the candy store. It sounded merry and ominous at the same time.
Andrei sat at a table in front of them. Legs crossed, hands clasped in front of him. Two chairs were pulled up to the table, one on either side of him. Three drinks were on the table. Clear liquid. Vodka.
He didn’t smile at them, he just watched carefully as they crossed over the threshold. They stopped, stared back. Nobody moved for a long time.
Finally Andrei stirred, managed a weak smile, and motioned to the chairs. “We have things to talk about,” he said.
“Damn right we do,” Anya shot back. She and Nick took their seats, Anya to the left of Andrei and Nick to the right. Nick pushed his chair back from the table so he could be face-to-face with Andrei. Anya saw that, got up, moved her chair so it was opposite her cousin, and sat down again. She crossed her legs like Andrei and glared at him.
Nick sighed. He knew it would be up to him to play peacemaker if he wanted to get Nonna back.
“We know you and Dmitri were working together,” he said. It sounded strange to speak those words.
Andrei nodded. “I know. When I heard Dimitri was killed by an American and a ‘crazy young woman,’ as they said, I knew who it was. And I knew you’d figure it out quickly. You didn’t disappoint me.”
“Don’t patronize us, Andrei,” Anya said. Nick grew more nervous as he watched her body language. She was tense, right hand gripping her right knee. Left hand under the table. He tried to remember if she had a gun. She had given him his Glock back, so he didn’t think she was carrying, but he couldn’t be sure. He pulled one of the Glocks out under the table and undid the safety. The last thing he wanted to do was shoot Anya, even it was just in a spot that kept her from shooting Andrei, but Nonna came first. Not even close.
Andrei raised both hands. He said something in Russian, gesturing with his left hand. She replied, loudly. Soon they were going at it across the table, yelling in Russian, leaving Nick way behind.
“Hey!” Nick yelled, loud enough to get their attention. “I hate to interrupt a family discussion, but I have a problem.” He turned to Andrei. “Where’s Nonna? Give her to me, and our business is done. And speak in English, dammit!”
“Our business isn’t done, Nick,” Andrei replied, effortlessly switching to English. “You need to do one thing for me, one small thing, and then you get your precious little girl.”
Nick gripped the Glock hard under the table. “I’ve told you before, Andrei, I don’t do jobs for you. Find somebody else.”
Andrei shook his head. “Nyet. You have a reason to get close to Alexander. You’ve already been close to him. You can easily kill him.”
Nick was stunned. “Kill Bocharovo?”
Anya snorted loudly from across the table. “Are you crazy? You kill Alexander and you’ll start a war.”
“Not to mention the fact that I’ll be gunned down as soon as I pull the trigger,” Nick said.
Andrei pointed a finger at him. “I’ve seen you work, Nick. I know you can do it.” He swiveled on his cousin. “As for your war, Anya, isn’t it time to shake things up around here? The oligarchs have too much power! They’re lazy and they’re allowing foreigners in to get a piece of our action. We need new blood in Rostov.”
“You can’t do it alone, cousin,” Anya said, softer now, trying to calm Andrei. “You aren’t in that position. Come with me back to the restaurant. We’ll talk with papa, see what we can accomplish together.”
“No!” Andrei shouted. He slapped the table hard, causing the three glasses to tremble. Nick jumped and almost shot Andrei in the leg. He quickly reached down with his other hand and eased the safety back on. He kept the gun out, pointed away from the cousins.
“No,” Andrei said again. “They will talk, drink vodka together, and in the end nothing will be done. Your father is too scared of Alexander to do anything.”
“Then perhaps you should be scared of Alexander as well,” Nick interjected. This bickering was getting him no closer to Nonna. He was getting frustrated. “The man knows you screwed him.”
“Which is why you’re going to kill him,” Andrei said.
Nick shook his head. “Not gonna happen,” he said. “I’m done killing.”
The front door of the candy store opened, the bell rang, and two large men stepped through. Nick saw the immaculate suits, the close-shaved hair, the scar on the side of the mouth of the one in back. His heart dropped when he realized who it was.
Andrei grinned at his comrades, then turned to Nick. “No, your killing is just beginning, Nick.”
He wouldn’t have smiled if he realized how right he was.
Chapter 35
Popravko wasn’t gone long. He knocked lightly on the open door and walked in when Alexander glanced up. He couldn’t hide a smug look. Alexander knew he had good news.
“A red Kalina with a woman inside. We don’t have a detailed picture of her because she stayed in the car, but we did get the license number.” He handed a slip of paper to his boss. “We’re tracing it now.”
“Good,” Alexander said. “Get people out looking for it, too. With luck, they headed directly to this damned ‘associate.’”
Popravko nodded. “The word’s already gone out. I’ll let you know when we find them. Shouldn’t be long.”
Alexander nodded and smiled. He loved when Plan B worked.
Anya swiveled in her chair and groaned when she saw Ilia and Mikhail in the doorway. “You dumb Cossacks,” she said, and stood up. She walked over to Ilia’s bulk and jabbed a finger in his chest. It was at eye height for her, but she didn’t back down. “If you’ve been working with Andrei on this stupid plan, you’re in the shit just as bad as he is.”
Ilia smiled. He appeared more amused than anything else. “Little girl,” he said, his voice a low rumble, “I’ve been in the shit for a long time now. It’s where I’m happy. Now sit down.”
His reaction, or lack of it, deflated Anya, and she plopped heavily back into her seat with a sigh.
“And I see we’re speaking English in honor of our new friend,” Mikhail said. He walked over to Nick, who stood up to meet him. Unlike Anya, Nick matched Mikhail’s height and width. The two men stared at each other for a long moment before Mikhail stuck out his right hand.
Nick ignored it.
Not embarrassed, he brought it back and said, “I’ve been watching you for several days. You do good work. We could use a man like you on the team.”
“I was just saying the same thing,” Andrei commented with a chuckle.
“And like I told your handler,” Nick said, “It’s not gonna happen.” He glared at the bodyguard.
“I’m
afraid it already has,” Andrei said from the table. “You’ve helped us more than you think.”
Nick grunted. He started to get a bad feeling in his stomach again.
“We didn’t know about you until that run-in at the Dolphin Club,” Andrei said. “Mikhail saw you. Saw how you handled Sergei and Vlad after Maxsim beat up that hooker.”
“Zatknis,” Anya hissed.
“I will not shut up, little sparrow,” Andrei said. He picked up one of the untouched glasses on the table and drained it. He was feeling confident, Nick realized. The thought made him feel some hope. Confidence is dangerous with so many unknowns.
Andrei went on. “Mikhail got your name and called me. We did a little research on you and realized that all you needed was a little push. After that, well, you could take care of the rest.”
Nick stared at Andrei as he processed the words. Then he turned to Anya with a look of fury.
“You bitch!” he yelled. “Our meeting was no accident, was it?”
Andrei and Ilia burst out laughing, while Anya just looked miserable. Mikhail took it all in from the sidelines, watching.
“Of course it wasn’t, Nick,” Andrei said, wiping tears from his eyes. “My God, you’re so naïve.”
Nick pulled his gun and pointed it at Andrei’s head. The man didn’t move, but immediately the muzzle of Ilia’s gun was inches from Nick’s temple.
“Now just calm down, everybody,” Andrei said. “What’s done is done. We have to work together to get out of this.”
“Fuck you,” Nick said through clenched teeth. But he lowered his gun.
“Nick…” Anya said, and he looked at her. “I’m sorry. Andrei said to get to know you, then introduce you to him. I had no idea what he was up to.” There were tears in her eyes.
Nick stared at her, then turned back to Andrei. “I’m in this mess because you needed help to take down your enemies.”
“Wrong,” Andrei replied. “You’re in this mess because your friend slept with the wrong woman, and you were foolish enough to help him. Now sit down! You’re out of options.”
Nick sat.
“Maxsim helped us, you know,” Ilia said. “He made a big mistake in killing the hooker. He was always a, how would you say it, a hothead? She helped you and embarrassed him. He never could deal with that, so he killed her.”
Worth The Risk Page 23