Chapter 35 Mass
MASS
The seas are relatively calm as we cut through the chop. Allie stands beside me, wind whipping through her long hair, gazing out at the water. Every inch of her is scarred by stress and worry. I pull her tight to me and do what I can to ease some of her distress.
I would have left her behind, but she refused. Apparently, she threw such a fit that even Lucy agreed it was probably better to bring her along. It’s inconvenient and another layer I have to handle, but if I’m honest with myself, I’m proud of her for getting what she wants.
Like a proper Dragon’s wife.
“We’re close now.” I can’t see the warship, but based on the angle of the sun, I know it’s nearly time. “When we get into position, I want you safely inside. We’ll be out of range of Medved’s guns, but I’m not risking you.”
“I know. I promised I’d listen.” She leans against me. “I’m so terrified right now, Mass. What if they’re hurting her?”
“They wouldn’t dare. She likes Satya, even if the old bitch is a traitor.”
“I know. You’re right. But still.” She takes a breath, clearly fighting off more tears. “I just want this to be over.”
“Soon, my love, I swear it.” We stay huddled like that against the wind for a little while longer until Lucy comes to fetch me. I kiss Allie one last time. “I love you. I’ll bring her home.”
“I know you will.” She touches my cheek. “I love you too.”
One of the guards leads my wife down below deck. I watch until she disappears behind a heavily reinforced steel door.
“If anything goes wrong, get Allie back to the Fortress. Name her as my heir.”
“It’s going to be fine, Mass.”
“I mean it. Give her what she needs to survive. And you should take control of the rest of my organization.”
Lucy’s eyebrows raise. “Are you naming me Dragon in Waiting?”
“Not on your ass.”
“A sweet ass though, you have to admit.”
I grunt and smile as I follow her across deck.
The ship is slowing. Several of the crew are preparing an outrigger, barely more than a black rubber inflatable with a powerful motor.
I look over the edge and find Elias is already perched with a blanket over his legs and his lightweight portable wheelchair beside him.
“How’d you climb down there?” I call out to the old man.
He grins up at me. His face is pale and it’s clear the strain of being out of bed is already catching up to him. “I’ve still got some tricks left in me, don’t you worry.”
“You wouldn’t be a Dragon otherwise!” I turn back to Lucy and give her a look. “Take care of them.”
“You’re coming back. Don’t get all fucking sentimental on me now.”
“See you soon then.” I accept a gun from her, tuck it into a holster at my hip, and climb over the edge of the ship. The ladder is bobbing and moving, but I make it down and settle myself beside the motor.
The crew cuts us loose and we start to drift. Several people watch over the edge, including Lucy.
“All set, Dragon?” Elias smiles at me weakly.
“This won’t take long, I promise.” I turn on the engine and aim the boat in the proper direction. There’s a GPS navigation kit programmed for Medved’s location.
Twenty minutes of near silence broken only by the swell of the waves and the drone of the motor.
Elias stares out at the sea and I decide it’s better to let the old man have this time to himself.
We both know what’s coming next for him.
Assuming the handoff goes as planned, Medved will take him, kill him, and throw his body overboard.
That’ll be the end of the Dragon, and a new Dragon will rise.
It’s admirable. I’m truly moved by his courage. Every man who enters this world knows there’s a good chance he’ll die an ugly and violent death. I’ve faced it down a dozen times and come out the other side. I have the scars and wounds to prove it.
But Elias knows there’s no chance.
He won’t survive. Even if he did, I think the trip would kill him anyway. He’s already not doing well despite the layers of clothing. He keeps rubbing his arms and shivering.
Medved’s ship comes into view. It starts as a speck in the distance and slowly grows larger. I push the boat as fast as it will move. Elias is looking bad and I’m beginning to worry about how I’m going to get him up on deck. One problem at a time though. Slowly, the ship grows bigger and bigger.
It’s a sleek machine, a lot like my own. The sides are painted gray and perfectly match the water around them. The sun is sinking on the horizon, but there’s still plenty of light left for this meeting. I’ll likely be heading back in the dark though.
“I never got a chance to say goodbye to Allesandra.” Elias seems pensive as the warship looms nearer. But there’s no fear in him. “Did you tell her what we’re doing?”
“I told her I was trading something important for our daughter. She didn’t ask for details. I don’t think she wanted to know.”
“That’s good. Don’t worry her.”
A man on the side of Medved’s ship hails us. He waves and gestures for me to pull the boat up alongside him. A large crane arm is hanging off the side with a complicated series of netting attached at the end.
I maneuver into position, which isn’t easy, but the ship is stationary.
The moving ocean makes it difficult, though.
When I’m in place, there are spots for me to tie the lines off.
Once that’s finished, the crane begins to lower the net, and the crew walks me through getting Elias inside and secured.
That takes another fifteen minutes, but eventually I climb the ladder and find the old Dragon already on the deck, his blanket cast aside, leaning his weight on his skinny arms.
He looks small outside of his chair and his bed. Nobody offers him any help.
I don’t move to assist him either.
Because I’m too busy staring at the two people watching me from the stern of the ship, barely ten feet away.
The first is Satya. She’s holding Rosie in her arms. My daughter seems comfortable and unharmed, though the little girl starts to squirm and cry out for me when she spots me. I am going to kill Satya as brutally and slowly as I possibly can. But I do my best not to show any emotions.
Because the second figure is Medved.
I haven’t seen him in years. Not since his failed attempt on Elias.
He looks fairly good, all things considered.
He’s a bear of a man. Tall and large with a heavy gut and a thick beard.
There are new scars on his face and burns disfigure the side of his head, leaving his hair in patches.
He’s wearing dark fatigues and a thick jacket.
There are no weapons visible, but that doesn’t mean much.
Medved came up through the Russian special forces. He was a killer for the government before he was a criminal. When international murder didn’t pay well enough, he decided to go private, and that’s when his true calling became clear.
The man has a head for the drug trade. He’s exceptionally good at it, and it helps that he has serious connections in Moscow and Beijing.
Medved’s smiling happily. “I wasn’t sure you’d come. And look, you caught me a big fish.”
Elias pulls himself up beside me. I don’t offer to help him. I doubt he’d want that right now. He’s visibly struggling, but the old Dragon deserves this last bit of dignity.
“Give my granddaughter over, Medved. This can be simple.”
“It can be. Drag yourself over here. I like seeing you down there, Elias, down at my feet where you belong.”
Elias’s face twitches. Despite everything, he’s still got his pride. But slowly, he begins the horrible trip across the deck, inching his way closer and closer, angling straight toward Satya.
The old woman clearly is bothered by the display. She moves to help Elias, but Medved stops her with a glare. We stand in silence as Elias uses the last of his strength to pull himself up beside her, slumped back on his elbows and gasping for air.
“My daughter,” I say, holding out my arms. I’m aware that Medved’s crew is watching, and each of them is likely a heavily armed and hardened killer.
Satya doesn’t move, and Medved doesn’t order her over.
Instead, the old Russian seems thoughtful.
“This system of ours. I always found it rather antiquated. Why the Dragon name? Why five positions? There could easily be four, or three, or even one.” He shows his teeth in a dazzling smile. “I’ve been pondering all the different ways I can positively impact our silly little agreement.”
“I don’t care about any of that. I only care about Rosie.”
“The child is important. She represents so much of what’s wrong with our system. Granddaughter of one Dragon. Daughter of another Dragon. We’re supposed to be a meritocracy where the strongest ascend, and yet it seems like you Dragons sure do love to interbreed. Makes me wonder.”
“Enough.” I step forward, heart hammering. “I’m not interested in your monologue. Hand my daughter over.”
Medved pretends to think it over. A smile spreads across his craggy face. “I don’t think so.”
“You disgusting rat,” I snarl, hands curled into fists. I’m aware that I’m surrounded by well-armed killers and anything I do will be completely futile, but I hate the bastard. “You go back on this deal and I’ll make sure my people sink you to the bottom of the fucking sea.”
“I don’t think so. You wouldn’t risk your precious girl like that. No, I think I’ll keep her, keep you, and keep what’s left of Elias here. Two Dragons and a little baby Dragon? That sounds like enough leverage to take control of the whole damn system, don’t you?”
Blood rushes into my head. How could I have stumbled into this? I should’ve seen it coming from the start. What leverage do I have now? Some vague threats? Medved has Elias. I’m powerless to stop him, especially with my daughter on board.
It’s a fucking nightmare.
“Enzo,” I say quietly.
His voice crackles to life in my ear. “I’m listening.”
“Did you hear all that?”
“Unfortunately.”
“How surgical can you be?”
“I can split a dick hair from a mile away, but your daughter—”