Chapter Two – Alex
You know much about the Antonovs? I muttered to Solomon, as we rode up in the elevator together. He shrugged.
Enough, he replied.
Enough?
Enough to know that when you get a meeting with one of them, you don’t turn it down, he replied, cocking an eyebrow at me. Which is why we’re here.
You have any idea what this mission is about, exactly?
None, he replied, shaking his head. Just play it cool, alright? The last thing we want is to make an enemy of Maxim Antonov.
If there was one person in this world I trusted to give it to me straight, it was Solomon, and, when Maxim had reached out to us last week, he had insisted we meet with him. Whatever the job was, he told me, it was worth finding out just how much we might get paid for it – these guys had pretty much all the money in the city to their name, and we would have been stupid to turn our backs on it.
And money was the one thing that decided what our next job was going to be. Solomon and I had been working together for the better part of a year now, when we had been paired up to deal with a Francone family matter; taking out a whole compound of their enemies in a single night, the payout had been worth it, but, more than anything, I had been impressed that Solomon had actually been able to keep up with me.
With my military training, I was disciplined and focused in a way that not many of the Bratva freelancers were. No, too many of them were easily distracted by money or girls or booze or whatever the hell was put in front of them, but that had never been my game. When I took on a mission, I saw it through, no matter what obstacles were put in front of me. Nothing got in the way of doing what needed to be done.
And Solomon was exactly the same way. He might have been a little looser in how he went about pulling these missions off, but he wouldn’t back down until he had delivered exactly what had been asked of him. The two of us had clicked immediately, and we’d been working together ever since we had first met, doubling our coverage – and our prices – in the process.
And now, apparently, we had caught the attention of one of the most influential families in the whole city. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous. Though I’d been part of this world for a long time now, that didn’t mean that there wasn’t a part of me that worried about how I was going to be perceived, coming from the background I did. The Bratva crew, they were often doubtful of anyone who hadn’t been born and raised in the business. I had proved myself a hundred times over now, but that didn’t mean people didn’t look twice when they found out I had once worked for the state.
Though that was long behind me now, long behind me. I had seen the shit the military did in other nations, and there was no way what this Antonov guy was going to ask us to do could have been worse than that...
The doors to the elevator opened, and, just like that, I found myself looking at Maxim Antonov; an older man with dark hair that was gray around the temples, in a suit that probably cost more than a month of my rent.
Solomon, Alex, he greeted us, shaking us both by the hand in turn. Thank you for coming. Please, follow me to my office...
Solomon and I exchanged a look, but did as we were told. The penthouse we were in was seriously fancy, with a view over the entire city. Probably so Maxim and Damyan could keep an eye on their whole empire. With their hard work, they controlled the better part of New Ruska, and that was only expanding with every passing day. I had no doubt that we had been called in to help with that.
In his office, Maxim poured both of us a generous measure of vodka; I took the drink, knowing better than to turn down one when it was given to me, especially in circumstances like this. Maxim would expect us to play by his rules as long as we were in his home, and I was willing to make that happen, if it meant we would have a chance to work with him.
So, this job I have for you, Maxim began, clasping his hands on the dark, polished wood of the desk before him. It’s...a little different from what you might have done before.
We’ve done almost everything you can think of, Solomon replied, a slightly cocky smile on his face. He prided himself on being able to handle anything that this line of work threw at him – a good approach for the most part, but sometimes, it would get him in trouble. Like when he didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut at the bar when we went out for a drink after a tough job, and I had to pull him out of there before he said more than he was supposed to.
I’m well aware of your reputation, Maxim replied. That’s why I brought you here today.
I nodded, leaning forward with interest.
So, tell us what the scope of this job is, I replied.
I need bodyguards, he replied. I frowned. I had seen a few men on the door when we had arrived. It looked as though he already had his security detail locked down, at least as far as I could see.
You need bodyguards?
Not for myself, he continued. For my daughter, Olya.
Your daughter? Solomon echoed incredulously. I could already tell he wasn’t into this idea. And, shit, it didn’t exactly appeal to me either, playing babysitter for his kid.
Yes, he went on. He could tell neither of us was exactly taken with the idea. She’s just arrived back from a year abroad in Budapest, and I can tell it’s made her...reckless. Now she’s returned, I’m worried she’s going to be a target for the people who want to cause me trouble. You understand?
I nodded. Solomon didn’t respond.
I want to hire the two of you for, let’s say, the next year, he went on. To live with her, watch over her, keep her safe against any threats that might come her way.
Solomon shook his head.
With respect, Maxim, he replied. Our skills are more suited to work out in the field-
I shifted slightly, silently telling Solomon to shut the fuck up before he made an enemy of the man we really wanted on our side. No, it wasn’t exactly what we were used to, but that didn’t mean that it was a good idea to turn him down right off the gate. I didn’t want to piss him off. And, besides, it sounded like easy work. If he was offering a decent wage for it, then maybe we would have been smart to actually give it a go.
I’m aware of what your skills are, he replied coolly, his eyes flashing with annoyance for a moment.
Which is why I’m offering excellent remuneration for your time, he continued. A million dollars. Each.
My eyes widened. A million? A million fucking dollars? I must have been hearing him wrong. I leaned forward, parting my lips, intending to double-check I had heard him right, but he just lifted his hand to stop me in my tracks.
I’m aware of how it sounds, but I promise you, this isn’t some kind of scam, he replied. I have the means. And I want the very best to take care of my daughter.
Solomon tensed beside me. Much as it would have been a step down in terms of the work we had done before, how in the hell could we turn down that kind of money? How could we walk away from something like that? It might not have been what we expected to be doing, but, shit, we would have been idiots to pretend like we didn’t need that kind of cash.
We’ll do it, I blurted out before I could stop myself. I likely should have stopped to consult with Solomon first, but there was no way I was letting this offer slip through our fingers to go to someone else, who would never have been able to deliver on the kind of quality we did, anyway.
You will? Maxim replied, his face lighting up with relief. He clapped his hands together. That’s fantastic news. I’ll organize payment at the end of this week – half now, and half at the end of the year. Does that sound fair?
Sounds good to me, Solomon replied. I breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, so he wasn’t going to totally hand my ass to me when we stepped out of this office. Much as it wasn’t exactly our wheelhouse – we were more about causing trouble than fighting it off – for that kind of cash, there wasn’t much in the world I wouldn’t have put up with for a year or so.
I extended my hand to Maxim to seal the deal. I could deal with what this was actually going to mean once we were out of here. For now, all I could see were the dollar signs, flashing before my eyes – and I was willing to do whatever it took to get that in my bank account.