Sergei
There’s enough firepower in this room to start a war.
I scan the exits first. Then the men between them and me.
Not all of them are fast enough to matter.
The five-family meetings always run on the same lie. That we’re civilized. That we’re aligned. That the blood between us stays under the table as long as nobody reaches too fast.
Most days, it works.
Today, Yuri Baranov is sitting in a seat that isn’t his.
Where’s Mikhail?
I know where Sofia is. Class first. Then the gym.
Castellano leans in to whisper to his underboss. The Yee brothers come in together, same as always. The Irish are murmuring to each other too.
Nobody likes Yuri at that table.
He knows it and he’s here anyway.
I watch him in my peripheral vision. Either Mikhail sent him here, or he has too much gumption for his own good.
He works the room well. I’ll give him that.
I don’t underestimate men just because I want them dead.
Yuri blends fast. Fast enough to make people forget he hasn’t earned the seat yet.
The right handshake for each man. Every name memorized.
Fluent Italian when he turns to Castellano. He moves like he already belongs here.
He doesn’t.
He’s not here to observe. He’s here to plant a flag. Every man in the room sees the same thing now. Mikhail’s proxy. A man trying to sit in the chair before it’s his.
Sofia has never been to one of these meetings.
What matters now is whether she knew this one was happening.
She should have. If she’s taking over—and everything I’ve seen says she is—then she should know the meeting was today. She should know her father’s seat wouldn’t sit empty. She should either be here herself or have made a deliberate choice not to be.
That choice I could respect. There’s value in letting the underground underestimate you while you build real position elsewhere. Stay in the background. Let them assume the legitimate businesses are all you touch. The minute she is named heir, she becomes a target.
That version has logic.
It is not the one I believe.
She doesn’t know.
That is a problem. The fact that I know exactly how she’d react if she did is another.
Kirill is at my back. Just Kirill and me. My men are outside. If it comes to that, they’ll get me out.
Yuri didn't arrive in this city without a plan. His plan is easy to guess. But Mikhail’s plan is less clear.
If Mikhail is making his own moves, testing the waters with a different heir while Sofia has no idea, then his motive is either to protect her or protect the empire he’s built by betting on a male instead of his own daughter. I don’t like how she will probably respond to either option.
I clear my throat. It’s enough to stop the whispers. I feel Yuri’s cold blue eyes on me. There’s a challenge behind his smooth facade. A challenge that could become dangerous fast.
The meeting begins. I run it, same as I have the last several. Territorial disputes. Port matters. Money to keep law enforcement happy and off our asses. Controlled. No shouting. No posturing.
I close the meeting and the usual side conversations start up. Deals. Trades. Minor disputes handled with no bloodshed.
I get to my feet.
“Car’s waiting,” Kirill says.
“Tell them to hold.”
He nods. I don’t move yet. I want to see who Yuri talks to. What deals he tries to make. This is our routine. We pretend to be talking business while we listen to the room. Read body language. Wait for men to show their hand.
“Incoming,” Kirill says.
"Sokolov."
I slowly turn to find Yuri wearing a smile I’d love to wipe off his face.
“Yuri.”
“I wanted to introduce myself. I know we’re technically competitors, but I believe in maintaining good relationships.”
“Relationships.” I let the word sit between us. “These meetings are reserved for family heads.”
“Of course.” His smile doesn’t waver. “My uncle doesn’t have a problem with me representing him.”
I adjust my cuff and check the time without looking rushed. “When succession happens, it happens. Until then, seats at this table aren’t inherited early.”
I catch the flash of irritation before he masks it. Good. I want him irritated.
“Surely you can appreciate the need for continuity. A smooth transition is better for everyone.”
“Whoever sits in that chair will have to prove they belong there. Same as the rest of us.”
“I look forward to that day. I think you and I could work well together, Sokolov. I believe we have similar philosophies about business.”
I doubt that very much.
"I was hoping for a few minutes."
That gets my attention.
He tilts his head, indicating he wants to move away from any eavesdropping.
I move, Kirill right behind me. Yuri looks at him, like he thinks Kirill is going to leave my side. When Kirill doesn’t move, Yuri lets it go.
"My uncle speaks highly of your operation," he says.
"Mikhail is generous."
“He’s also very ill.” I hear the excitement under it. Not grief. He’s not even trying to look sad. "The Baranov family is in transition. That creates opportunity, if it's managed correctly."
"Transitions usually do.”
"I'd like to manage it correctly." He rubs his jaw in an attempt to look casual.
"Your weapons pipeline is the most significant operation in this city. Everyone in the room knows it, from what I’ve gathered.
The Baranov distribution network is the most extensive.
" He pauses. "They were built to work together.
They just haven't been under cooperative management. "
I know where he’s going with this.
"You're offering me the distribution network," I say. "In exchange for what."
“What are all joint ventures about?”
“Mutual benefit.”
“Exactly.” He leans in slightly, lowering his voice. “I can deliver the Baranov network. Every distribution channel, every contact, every arrangement Mikhail has built over forty years. But I need backing. The Moscow leadership respects strength. They respect alliances.”
I let the silence stretch. He’s offering me something I don’t need. I already have distribution channels that work. What he’s really asking for is legitimacy. My endorsement at this table would signal to Moscow that Yuri has the support of the most powerful bratva in New York.
“That’s a bold thing to offer me,” I say, giving him nothing.
“I think we could do exceptional business together, Sokolov. My uncle’s methods are traditional. Conservative. There’s growth he hasn’t touched.”
Translation: Mikhail won’t give him what he wants, so he’s shopping for a new partner.
“Growth is good.”
I need him talking. Show me where the cracks are.
“I have another business matter I’d like to discuss with you. It’s sensitive.” He glances around the room. “Not appropriate for this setting.”
My preference is to decline. Whatever Yuri is offering, I want no part of it. But I make it a point to know everything that moves through this city. I’m not in the habit of refusing free intelligence.
“I’m listening.”
“Not here,” he says again. “Perhaps we could meet. Somewhere private.”
I consider this. Meeting with Yuri sends its own message—to him, to Mikhail, to Sofia, if she ever finds out. But refusing outright tells him I’m already picking sides, and I’m not ready to show that hand.
“I’ll be in touch.”
“I look forward to our partnership, Sokolov.”
He walks away, already moving toward Castellano. Making his rounds. Building his coalition.
I watch him work the room for another thirty seconds before I turn to Kirill.
“Car.”
We’re out the door and in the SUV before I speak again.
“I want surveillance on every conversation Yuri has for the next seventy-two hours. Everyone he meets. Everyone he calls. Anyone he so much as nods to on the street.”
“On it,” Kirill says.
“And find out if Sofia knew about the meeting. If she knew Yuri was ‘representing’ the family today.”
Kirill pulls out his phone and starts typing. I stare out the window as we move through traffic.
Yuri made a mistake today. He showed his hand too early. He’s desperate for legitimacy, which means he doesn’t have it yet. Moscow is watching. Waiting to see who emerges as the stronger candidate to fill Mikhail’s place.
And he just told me exactly what he’s willing to trade for my support.
“Boss,” Kirill says, still looking at his phone. “Sofia’s at the gym. Been there forty minutes. Nothing unusual.”
“She doesn’t know,” I say.
“How can you be sure?”
“Because if she knew Yuri was sitting in her father’s chair at that table, she would have shown up to remind everyone whose chair it is.”
Kirill considers this. “So Mikhail didn’t tell her, or he didn’t send Yuri?”
“Mikhail is playing his own game.” I lean back against the seat. “The question is whether he’s backing Yuri or testing Sofia. Seeing if she’ll notice. If she’ll fight back.”
“And if she doesn’t notice?”
Then she’s not ready, and Mikhail knows it.
I close my eyes and see her face. I know exactly where I’d stand if it came to gunfire.
Between her and it.
That is the problem.
That kind of instinct is dangerous. It makes me vulnerable. It makes me predictable.
It makes me weak.
“What are you thinking?” Kirill asks.
“I’m thinking Yuri just offered me everything I need to eliminate the old Baranov family business as competition. Full access to their distribution network, their contacts, their infrastructure. All I have to do is back his claim and let him remove Sofia from the equation.”
“That’s an excellent deal.”
“It could be.”
“And you’re still not taking it.”
I open my eyes and look at him. “No.”
Kirill nods once. “This is about her.”
“This is about Yuri as a variable I haven’t mastered yet. I need to find out what Yuri is really hiding. Keep him talking. Make him think I’m considering his offer while I figure out what he’s actually planning.”
“And Sofia?”
“I don’t know.”
Those three little words are dangerous. Kirill doesn’t say what we both know. I don’t get to stay divided on this. The decision comes now.