“Thank God for that,” Andrei cut in. “We thought we had you after the attack on the street, but you didn’t follow it up.”
Nick glared at him.
“We were impressed with how you dealt with the two enforcers,” Andrei said. He was completely in control now. Anya sat in her chair, not moving, and Nick stared at him impassively. Nick only vaguely heard the words. He was busy judging angles, openings. It didn’t take much to conclude that Andrei was right, he didn’t have many options. Mikhail was off to the side, but Andrei and Ilia had him flanked, and both were armed. If he rushed one, the other would take him out before he got halfway, and the way they were situated meant that one wouldn’t have to worry about hitting the other. To make it worse, if he went after Ilia and Andrei retaliated, Anya would be in the middle. He was livid at her betrayal, but he didn’t want to see her shot after what she had done to help him. Nick doubted Andrei would shoot at his own cousin, if for no other reason than not to risk the wrath of his uncle, but he couldn’t be sure of that. So he waited.
Andrei continued. “After you took out Dmitri’s men, we knew you were capable of doing more damage. We just had to…lead you.”
“Why couldn’t you do it?” Nick asked. Keep them talking.
“Why should we? An unstable American comes to town and shoots up Bocharova’s network? Everybody’d believe it, since we hear so much about unstable Americans.”
“And you don’t have to get your feet dirty,” Anya said. She sounded as angry as Nick felt.
“Exactly,” Andrei said. “He does the work, we get the benefits.”
“Did you take Nonna?” Nick asked.
“No,” Andrei said. “That was Dmitri’s idea. Well, with a little prodding by us. After you attacked him at his house and took his things, he was looking for a way to get back at you. We…suggested he go after the thing most dear to you.”
“It was quite easy, actually,” Ilia said, nodding. “Dmitri has a relationship with the head of the baby home, so he was able to intervene with the adoption.”
“He was a fool,” Andrei said. “Dmitri approached me for an alliance, saying he wanted to take down Alexander. I knew right away he was too glupyy, too stupid, to make it work. But with my brains, we could get it done. And as long as he was the visible partner, he would take the fall if things went wrong.”
“How did that go for you, Andrei?” Nick shot back. “Dmitri is dead and Alexander knows he was working with somebody. He’s coming after you, asshole.”
Andrei shook his head. “If he was, he’d be here already. I have men around the building, ready to call in if they see anything. So far no calls. So I suspect you protected me, Nick. And why would that be?”
Nick said nothing.
“Is it because I have your daughter? And if I die, we both lose?”
Nick said nothing.
“But I only lose my life. You lose so much more.”
Nick pursed his lips, sat still.
“So, like it or not, we’re on the same side,” Andrei said.
“That’s exactly how Bocharova put it, “Nick said. “And he was wrong, too. I’m not on your side. I’m not on his side. I’m on Nonna’s side, on my family’s side. That’s it. And you can both kill each other as far as I’m concerned.”
“But we know that won’t happen, American,” Ilia said. “We know you’ll protect Andrei until you’re dead.”
Nick gazed at Andrei. “Or until I beat the information out of him.”
Ilia grunted. “Maybe we should just kill him now, Andrei. We can take out Alexander and blame it on him.”
Nick glared at Ilia. The roaring in his ears was there, just beneath the surface. “You know, Ilia, I think you’re going to be the next one I send to the hospital. You’re too dumb to be allowed to roam free. I’ll be doing everybody a favor by shooting you.”
Ilia turned red. Nick glanced at Mikhail, who gave Nick a look that told him to shut up.
They stayed that way for a long moment, ready to pounce on each other.
And then Alexander arrived.
Andrei rose as a noise came from outside the candy store. He drew his gun. Ilia whirled and pulled a gun from his suit coat. Nick reached down and quickly undid the safety of his Glock. Mikhail pulled his own Glock and released the safety.
The door burst open and two men ran in. They were out of breath, wild-eyed. Both had guns in their hand.
Nick was relieved to see Andrei lower his gun. Andrei said something in Russian and one of the men replied, words rushed, not pausing for the breath he needed. Andrei and Ilia looked at each other and Anya jumped up.
Nick knew it had to be bad.
Andrei quietly gave what Nick assumed to be orders to the new men. They nodded and disappeared through the back door of the store, into the warehouse area.
Anya spoke to Andrei frantically. He looked undecided, then nodded. He obviously didn’t like what he was agreeing to. He turned to Nick, livid.
“Alexander’s men are at the corner. At least four. They know where we are. You led them right to us!”
“No way,” Nick replied. “I shook them.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Anya replied. “We need to go right now.”
Andrei raised his gun and pointed it at Nick’s forehead. “Not him. Nick, you stay here and give us at least five minutes.”
“Andrei!” Anya protested.
“Nonna will thank me later,” Andrei said.
“Where will you be?” Nick asked.
Andrei shook his head. “If you don’t know, you can’t tell Alexander.”
“We’ll find you,” Ilia said with an evil grin.
Anya stepped up to Nick and put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, but Andrei’s right,” she said. “You can’t tell what you don’t know.”
“Unless they don’t believe me,” Nick replied.
Ilia shrugged. “Convince them,” he said.
“We’ll find you,” Anya whispered, looking in his eyes. He could see she didn’t believe it herself.
“No,” he whispered back, glaring at her. “I’ll find you.”
She looked uncertain for a moment, hand still on his arm, then she turned and followed the two men out the back, Mikhail close on her heels.
Nick was back sitting at the table when the two men burst through the door. He had moved around just inside the door a few times, hoping they’d think there were multiple men in the candy shop, hoping they’d delay their attack, and hoping like hell they didn’t come in with guns blazing.
They didn’t, whether because they wanted to be discreet or because they had eyes on Nick, he didn’t know. He didn’t really care, either, as long as he didn’t have any extra holes in his body ten seconds after they forced their way in.
Both men screamed at Nick and motioned to the floor with their guns. He didn’t move, just stared back at them impassively, hands in his lap, palms up, as they swept the room.
His failure to comply threw the men for a moment, until one motioned Nick to stand up. He did, holding his arms high. They frisked him quickly, professionally, and found nothing. His Glocks were hidden in two large bowls of hard candy. He still had plans for them.
One spoke into a walkie talkie and almost immediately four more men rushed into the store. Behind them were Bocharova and Popravko.
Alexander immediately walked up to Nick. He clucked his tongue. “I was waiting for my phone call.”
“It’s not two hours yet.”
Bocharova glanced around the store. “And yet you obviously found what you were looking for. Where are they?”
Nick glanced at his watch. The five minutes were up. Well, close enough, if he rounded up. “To tell you the truth,” he said, “they wouldn’t say. They mumbled something about how I couldn’t tell you what I didn’t know.”
Alexander looked closely at Nick, who met his gaze full-on. After a moment he nodded. “At least you can tell me how they got out of here.”
Nick pointed over his
shoulder with his thumb, towards the back of the room. “Five minutes ago. They saw your men. You should’ve been more subtle.”
Alexander made a growling sound. “No need. We’ll find them. We know about Andrei now. He’s not going anywhere.” He motioned for the remaining men in the candy store to search the rear.
“Did you follow me?” Nick asked.
Alexander hesitated, then shrugged. “Doesn’t matter now. No, we found your girlfriend’s car in the surveillance video. Somebody spotted it across the street.”
Nick nodded. “Fast work, nice.”
“We have more good news,” Alexander said.
“Yeah?”
Alexander motioned to Popravo. “Tell him, Vitali.”
Popravko stepped up to the men, looked at Nick, and said, “We found your daughter.”
Chapter 36
Nick felt light-headed. “You found Nonna? Excellent! Where is she?”
“She’s with Andrei’s girlfriend, in their apartment,” Popravko said. “We have two men watching it now.”
Nick shook Alexander’s hand. “Thank you, Alexander. How’d you find her so quickly?”
The Russian shrugged in a self-deprecating way that was very unlike him. “Andrei is known to us. Not well, but we know where he lives. We sent a man there. Andrei wasn’t home, but he saw the woman with a baby through the window.”
“I want to go there now.”
Alexander smiled. “Of course, I understand. Vitali will take you there.”
Nick nodded, and the two men shook hands again. “Good luck with Andrei. There’s a young woman with him, his cousin Anya. She had no idea of his plan. I hope you can keep her out of this.”
“She’s not a complete innocent,” Alexander said. Seeing Nick’s face, he added, “However, I also don’t make war on women unless I have to. If she was unaware of what her cousin was up to, I’m sure we can find a satisfactory solution for her.”
Nick wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that, but Popravko was already pulling at his sleeve. “We need to go now. Alexander has things to do.”
As they walked to the door, they passed the two large glass bowls holding his Glocks. Realizing that pulling two guns out of candy bowls would raise more questions than he wanted to answer, Nick passed them with just a quick glance. He was very happy to not have to use them after all.
They emerged into the bright sunlight and turned right. Nick squinted and held his hand over his eyes for a moment, until he was used to the glare. He didn’t realize how dim the candy store was, even with the glass storefront.
They passed two men standing guard a few feet from the entrance. They nodded at Popravko and stared at Nick, expressionless. He ignored them. Now that he had a bead on his daughter, he had no intention of dealing with them any longer than he had to.
“It didn’t take long to find me,” Nick said.
Popravko smiled slightly. He took the comment as a compliment and seemed embarrassed by it. “It wasn’t difficult. After we lost you in the market—“
“Ahhh, so you were following me,” Nick broke in. He laughed, a short bark. “I figured you would.”
The Russian shrugged. “It didn’t matter. We checked the tapes and saw you get out of the Kalina. Fortunately one of our men was in this area and noticed the car. It was good luck that we found it so quickly, but it would have happened soon enough anyway.”
They crossed the street. Nick frowned.
“Did Andrei say anything to you in the store?” Popravko asked. “Anything that could help us find him?”
“No, he didn’t,” Nick replied slowly. “I don’t think they had any plans. When your men swooped in, they just bolted. They told me to hold you for a few minutes, until they got away, or else my daughter would be in danger.”
“Ahhh, yes,” Popravko said. “Well, at least you won’t have to worry about them and your daughter any longer.”
“You said she’s with Andrei’s girlfriend?”
“Yes, they’re in their apartment. Hold on, I’m going to call our man there.”
He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. Spoke a few words quietly. Listened. Nodded. Talked again. Hung up. Nick listened intently but was unable to make out any specific words. He felt in his pocket for the Glock, then remembered the candy bowls. He cursed his stupidity.
“Good news,” Popravko said as he put the phone back in his breast pocket. “They’re still there, and have no idea that we’re on to them. Once you get there, we’ll rush in and surprise her. You’ll have your daughter in just a few minutes.”
Nick forced a smile. “That’s wonderful news, Vitali. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Of course,” Popravko said. “You helped us, we’ll help you. As Alexander said, we’re all on the same side here.”
Nick nodded absently. “So what happens to Andrei?”
“He’ll be dead within the hour,” Popravko said. “As I’m sure you can understand, we can’t let him live now, not after he plotted against us. He needs to…” He paused.
“Be made an example of,” Nick finished.
The Russian looked at Nick sharply, but Nick simply stared straight ahead as they walked.
“Yes, he must be made an example of. Our authority must not be challenged.”
“And those with him?” Nick asked, meaning Anya.
“I’ll be honest, Nick. Everybody with Andrei will likely have the same fate.”
Nick nodded. Unwittingly, Popravko just gave away the game. “I understand. Others know, or will soon know, that Dmitri and Andrei plotted to overthrow Alexander. They must be punished. Publicly punished.”
“Exactly!” Poprakvo said with enthusiasm. “I’m glad you understand. It’s the way it has to be.”
“Oh, I get it, all right,” Nick said. They crossed another street. Cars crossed in front and behind them, diesel cascading around them. There wasn’t a light at the intersection, and the two men stopped in the middle, between lanes of traffic, and waited for a break in the flow. It came and they sprinted across the street.
Once they had slowed down and moved away from the road, Nick said, “From what I’ve heard, Andrei works with his uncle. Will his uncle be made an example of as well?”
“Of course,” the Russian said.
The answer sent a shiver through Nick. “Even if he had no idea about Andrei’s actions?”
“Oh, I’m sure he knew something,” Popravko said. “And even if he didn’t, this is a perfect time to take him down.”
“Take him down,” Nick repeated slowly.
“Of course,” Popravko said again. “Nick, you’re not Russian. After Gorbachev, things are always changing. It is difficult to make a good living here without being…aggressive.”
“You seem to be doing a good job.”
“And we are, because we’re aggressive. When we see a chance to move in, we take it.”
“Ahhh, I get it!” Nick said, feigning enthusiasm to match Popravko’s. “You’re going to use this little incident to kill everybody associated with Andrei, and take over his business. Brilliant!”
The sarcasm flew over Popravko’s head. He made a fist with his left hand and held it up in a sort of a victory salute. “Exactly! Whether he is guilty or not is irrelevant. Nobody will question us because everybody will agree it should be done.”
“I must say, Vitali, we could learn a lot from you.”
Popravko smiled. “It’s a pity you’re going to be with us for such a short time.” He laughed as though at an inside joke. Nick laughed with him.
“Here we are,” Popravko said. He pointed to a brownstone on their right. A short flight of concrete stairs led into the building, which looked to house six or eight apartments. “This is where your daughter is.” They walked up the steps and into the dim lobby.
Popravko grabbed Nick’s arm. “Please wait here,” he said. “I’m going to go up and check the situation. I’ll be back in a moment.”
“OK, Vitali,” Nick said
agreeably. When the Russian disappeared up the stairs, Nick searched the lobby. There wasn’t much to search. A bank of mail slots perched on one wall. Otherwise, the space was empty except for the stairs.
Nick turned around. They had entered through a simple doorway. One heavy wooden door, no screen. Two small windows on either side. Nick went to one window and felt along the sash. Dirt and dead bugs clung to his fingers. He wiped them off quickly and felt up along the side. The window was a crank out and Nick found the metal rod that supported the window. He grabbed it and pulled. Nothing. He cranked the window in a few turns and tried again. This time, with reduced tension, the rod wiggled in his hand. He cranked the window in more and tried the rod again. This time he was able to bend it back and forth until it slipped out of its track.
He quickly pocketed the metal rod and stepped back to his original position.
He heard the clatter of shoes on the stairs and soon Popravko appeared on the landing above Nick. He gestured down at him. “Everything is ready, come with me,” he whispered.
Nick climbed the stairs behind Popravko. They went up two flights, to the top floor. At the top of the stairs was a man with an assault rifle. Nick’s heart sped up when he realized it was a Nikonov AN-94. Designed to replace the AK-47, the Nikonov had a two-round burst mode. A person could do some serious damage with a two-round burst mode.
The man stared silently at Nick as they mounted the landing. He held the AN-94 in both hands, barrel pointing down and towards a door, buttstock open.
“She’s in there?” Nick asked.
The guard didn’t move, but Popravko said, “Yes, they’re inside.”
“I thought you said there were two men here?”
“Excuse me?”
Nick spoke slower. “I thought you said there were two men here. I only see one.”
“Ahhh,” Popravko said. “Yes, one is outside, keeping an eye on the window so they cannot escape.”
“I would think that a woman with a baby wouldn’t be able to escape very easily,” Nick replied.
Worth The Risk Page 24