Chapter One
Sergi glanced at Bane.
Bane just stared back at him.
James looked back and forth at them. “Do we have a plan?”
“For a missile?” Kosta asked him.
Suddenly, Sergi raised an eyebrow and smiled at everyone there.
Felix shook his head. “Boss? You’re smiling? We could get blown up here.”
“We make him wait in the lobby. Then we find his weakness,” Sergi explained as he looked over at Kosta.
“Find his connections back home and see if the man is working with someone bigger or has backing from someone bigger. Let’s get all of our ducks in a row gentlemen and lady then we can play duck hunter. ”
James snickered and quipped, “The Nintendo version?”
Sergi shook his head and replied, “The Constantine version.”
Felix snickered.
Everyone got clicking computer keys.
Bane smirked at him and gave him a nod of approval.
James got busy looking as well.
The front desk called shortly after that to announce that Dominic had arrived and to tell them he wanted a meeting with Yuri and Sergi.
Yuri told the receptionist to make him wait.
After half an hour, the front desk called again to tell them Dominic was beginning to get impatient.
At forty-five minutes, they called back and said he was making a scene.
Yuri sent two guards to stand between Dominic and the lobby clerks. They were told not to hurt him in any way.
After an hour, Serenity finally looked up. Her face looked pale and she had to clear her throat before she spoke, “I think I found something.”
Sergi had been pacing, waiting for something he could use against Dominic. Looked at her and asked, “What did you find?”
Serenity hit the print key.
Sergi walked over to the printer and lifted the pages one by one. His brow creased as he read the first page and the crease deepened by the third page. When he finished he looked up and the pages were crushed in his hand. “Blin,” he swore in Russian and he passed the pages to Yuri.
When Bane finally got the pages from James, he read them and something went very still inside him. He looked up at Sergi and asked, “Who the hell is Oleg Partross?”
“Someone with old ties to the Secret Police,” Sergi told him. “He’s also got enough money to run a small country. Not to mention old family ties that make him think he’s invincible.”
Viktor snorted. “He tried on several occasions to recruit the Enforcers away from the Bratva. When we didn’t take him up on his offers, the price increased several times.
” He shook his head. “We were Bratva and we wouldn’t betray that.
Which made us his enemy. He’s also got his own squad of bodyguards that he pays very well. ”
Sergi agreed, “He has to pay them very well. He’s got enough enemies due to his arrogance that he is afraid of being caught out on his own.”
“Da and he’s secluded himself behind the high walls of an impregnatable fortress,” Viktor informed them. “I’ve seen armed men walking along the top of his walls. He is a weekly task for us to watch. In fact, I have a rotation of men that watch him.”
Suddenly, Sergi’s phone pinged and he scowled at the message he got. He looked up at Bane and said, “It seems Dominic’s patience has run out. He’s demanding an audience right this minute. He has been pushing the guards.”
Bane nodded. “Not a surprise. Maybe it would be best if he didn’t know James and I were here yet.”
James nodded his head firmly and rapidly.
Sergi nodded. Then he looked at Felix and instructed, “Bring him down to the conference room.” He glanced at Bane. “You can hear and see everything from here.” Nodding at Yuri he asked, “Shall we find out what the little pissant wants?”
Yuri nodded. “Maybe when Felix brings him down, he should stay and monitor his movements?”
Sergi nodded. “That might be a good idea.” He looked at Bane and said, “You will remain here and watch the meeting?”
Bane smiled faintly. “Da I will watch. I will also have James and Excaliber dig deeper into his background.”
James looked up and handed Sergi a small disk. “This is a tracker. We need to know where he goes and who he makes contact with. It might help us figure out whatever we need to figure out.”
“How do I use it?” Sergi asked as he studied the small disk.
“The best bet would be to slip it under the collar of his coat, if you can,” James told him.
Kosta nodded. “Felix can do that.” He shrugged. “He’s done it before.”
Sergi nodded. Then he looked over at Bane to ask, “What do you hope to gain here?”
“We need to know the players in this game. You saw the sign right? Hurt Dominic and we’ll blow you up. I’m not going to say anymore. And that gives you deniability if something happens to Dominic.”
Sergi stared at him, “Is something going to happen to Dominic?”
Bane just stared back at him.
After a long moment, Yuri shook his head and asked, “Just do not kill him, ok?”
Bane slowly turned his head and smiled faintly at Yuri. “Of course not. He will still be alive when you drag him before the Council.”
Kosta looked up and said, “Dominic is waiting in the conference room.”
Sergi took a deep breath and nodded. “Let the games begin then.” He turned and headed to the door, Yuri followed and they both left the room.
Bane walked over to where Kosta sat and watched the screen as Sergi and Yuri walked into the room.
James sat nearby and he also looked up.
What they saw on the screen was Drop-a-bomb-Dominic sat slouched in his chair scrolling his phone while ignoring them.
Sergi growled at his disrespect as he waited a moment then sat down in his chair.
Dominic finally raised his head and asked Sergi, “Got any coffee?”
“Do we look like Starbucks?” Sergi glared at him then he motioned at Felix to get his coffee.
Felix strode past Sergi. He returned with a cup of strong black coffee and put it down in front of Dominic on the table. He then stepped back to smoothly slip the disk under his collar.
Dominic slurped the first sip of the black coffee and he slurped loudly. He took his time as he even sniffed the cup. Then he leaned back in his chair to return the glare at Sergi. “You have something I want.”
“Hmm, really?” Sergi cocked his head at him. “And just what would that be?”
“Not what, who.” Dominic took another sip of coffee. “Very good coffee by the way.”
Sergi sat back in his own chair and asked, “Blin Mister Debil. You leudachnik...” Mr. Retard. You loser. We are overjoyed that you like it.”
Dominic drew his brows together at the Russin. “I know a little of your language but I never heard that phrase.”
Sergi shrugged. “It is seldom used.” He smiled coldly. “Reserved for special occasions and unwelcome visitors such as yourself.”
Yuri snarked a chuckle and stifled his laugh.
Dominic looked back and forth at them and sneered. “My business partner is in your custody. I demand that you release her.”
“And just who is your business partner?” Yuri wanted to know. He needed him to say her name.
“I think you know who she is,” Dominic said.
“Da, I think we do.” Sergi sneered. “Tell me something, do you always do business with women like her? She has several fingers in some very iffy pies. And by the way, you might want to know we’ve taken everything in her warehouses into custody as well.
But not to worry, we have them all locked in safety but I’m afraid you won’t get them back. They belong to us now.”
Dominic narrowed his eyes at him as he snapped, “You can’t do that.”
Sergi smiled smugly. “Oh, but I’m afraid that we can. We found her first and she isn’t going anywhere. She owes the Bratva for her crimes and she’ll go before the High Council to be judged by them, not by us.”
Dominic shook his head. “You can’t do that. She isn’t a Russian citizen. They can’t judge her.”
“We can,” Sergi insisted. “Her crimes were committed against us as well as others. Did you know she’s also partnered with Aaron Killian? She’s paying him for protection. I have to wonder why a man like him is supposed to protect her from others. Would that other party happen to be you?”
Dominic’s eyes went blank and he had a set to his jaw that he didn’t have before.
Sergi could almost see the rage building inside Dominic and he had to smile.
His game was working. He nodded slightly as he explained it, “She owes the Bratva for running a scam on the entire city of New Orleans while pretending that we were doing it. She literally blackmailed the entire city and she portrayed us as the ones perpetrating it. No one makes a fool of the Bratva, no one.” He growled.
Dominic shook his head. “So you will drag her in front of the High Council in her freakin’ wheelchair?”
Sergi shook his head. “No, we will drag her on her freakin’ feet in front of the Council. She doesn’t need that chair.”
Dominic frowned. “She can’t walk... what are you talking about?”
Sergi snickered. “Oh, she can walk alright. The chair was a compelling device she used to undercut her enemies and partners like you. Make you feel like she wasn’t a real threat. Just for show, you see? But when she arrived here, we noticed something odd.”
“And that was?” Dominic asked.
“Her shoes.” Sergi nodded at him.
‘What about them?” Dominic snapped.
“The bottoms... the soles were somewhat dirty and well worn. So ask yourself why that would be if she cannot walk in those shoes.”
“Then we taped her pacing in her cell,” Yuri added.
Dominic snarled as he looked angry as hell. “That bitch can walk? Are you fucking kidding me? I’ve never seen her stand, let alone pace.”
Yuri brought out his phone, found the short video and then he turned his screen to Dominic.
Dominic took it and watched the video. His fingers tightened on the cell as he watched her pace back and forth. He placed the phone back on the table and his jaw clenched again. “That fucking bitch, she’s been lying this whole time.”
Sergi raised his brows. “Yes and I think there’s a whole lot more than this that she’s been lying about. Like to put it rather mildly. Every word she utters is more than likely... a lie.”
Dominic sat back in his chair and stared at Sergi. “So you said she was blackmailing the city, how much money did she get her hands on while using your name?”
“In the last ten years?” Sergi shrugged. “A fairly good amount I assume. In the millions perhaps. We haven’t actually totaled the numbers up yet.”
Dominic looked a bit stunned. “Ten years? Are you fucking kidding me?” Snorting, he asked, “She’s been scamming you guys that long?”
Sergi shrugged. “She wasn’t scamming us at all. Just milking every other faction in the city. She was using their own secrets against them while claiming it was the Bratva blackmailing them. We had nothing to do with it at all.”
“You need to release her to me. I’ll make sure she pays for her impudence.” Dominic growled.
Sergi leaned back in his chair. “I don’t think so. I’m not releasing her to anyone. She is going to stand before the Council.”
Dominic crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t think you understand who I am and who I represent here.”
Sergi stared him dead in the eyes. “I am well aware of who you represent. I, on the other hand, represent the Bratva and the Bratva doesn’t care who backs you. We represent the law in Russia and here in America. LaDonna Rinc is our prisoner and she isn’t leaving here without a Bratva escort.”
Dominic almost shouted his response, “You can’t keep her under your control! She’s an American citizen. You have no say over her.”
Sergi smiled. “This is true, we don’t but would you rather we turn her over to the American law enforcement?
We can do that, but when they investigate her crimes, it will bring down more than just her.
It will bring you and Oleg Partross down.
Are you sure you want to do that? That would bring to light every crime and dirty deal the two or three of you have set up in the past.”
Dominic’s expression showed the rage building in his chest. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Sergi smiled. “And you are a fool if you think I wouldn’t do it.
I think the High Council would be more than interested in the missing shipment of Russian explosives that was found in her warehouses and the fact that those explosives were tampered with.
By someone who added biohazard material.
So yes, I think they would be very interested in that. ”
Dominic got up so fast his chair scraped the floor. “You bastards. You lousy rotten bastards!”
“You call us the bastards yet you were willing to sell a biohazard that would kill thousands of people. Who’s the real bastard here?” Sergi asked quietly in the sudden silence that blanketed the room.
Dominic growled and walked to the door. He then turned around and glared at him. “I’ll see you all dead for this.” He snarled.
“Before you do that,” Sergi replied. “Just know that we sent a report to Russia telling them exactly what we found and who your partners are.” His tone remained even and calm.
He appeared to be nonchalant and completely unbothered.
“And you might want to know that Bratva is on their way to question Oleg Partross even as we speak. He’ll more than likely be answering questions in a courtroom all night long. ”
Dominic growled low and his grimace showed how he felt. He then stalked out the door.
Sergi looked over at Yuri and shrugged his neat suited shoulders as if he couldn’t understand why the man was so pissed off.
Yuri smirked.