Chapter Two
Sergi shook his head and made a production of joining her on the floor.
Then he chuckled. “It’s been a long time since I sat on the floor but this is where you seem more comfortable.
” He shrugged as if to say when in Rome, live like a roman.
He leaned against the wall behind them and asked, “So, what do you think of the way we are doing things here?”
Briar paused to stare at him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you don’t agree with so much of what we are doing that I want you to tell me what you think we should be doing here.”
Briar shrugged. “That’s not for me to say. I would never tell you how to run your operation. How can I tell the Bratva anything? You would never listen anyway.”
Sergi grinned slightly. “You might be surprised what I would listen to.”
“Such as?” Briar wanted to know.
“Such as, Serenity thinks Pablo Sinclair is a man that doesn’t exist,” he told her.
Briar nodded. “Well, that makes sense actually.”
“What do you mean?” Sergi asked.
She shrugged. “Nobody knows what this guy looks like. And that name sounds made up like Pablo is Spanish but Sinclair isn’t.
Unless there was a mixed parentage thing but the name just doesn’t jibe.
Sometimes Mr. C, you have to think outside the box and this guy knows exactly how to do just that if he mixes a name that way.
The name alone confuses the matter of who he is. ”
Sergi sat there for a moment then he stood to dust off his behind. “Smart...I like the way you think, young lady.”
Briar scoffed. “I’m not as dumb as I look. Most people are surprised about that actually. They think people living on the street are savages living in the stone age. Uneducated and stupid. But we actually have a brain and use it on a regular basis.”
Sergi stiffened in acknowledgement as he looked down at her and made it clear, “I try not to judge people by where they live, young lady. And since meeting you, Serenity and even my own granddaughter, I have learned that lesson well. Raven was raised on the streets. I do not know if you heard that entire story, but she had been trained to be a thief. She went along with it for survival and she had Nicky to care for.”
Briar nodded. “Serenity told me some of it. And wow, that story is amazing. Nicky grew up like that too. All while they had you and Nikoli out there and never knew it. Ok, so maybe you have some understanding then. I had friends who helped me, but I never had to work for some criminal. If I had, I might have been put in jail.”
“Yes, I am glad that you realize we do not think anything less of you because of your past of living on the streets. I never meant to imply that we thought less of you for that fact. Parts of our family lived that way for some time.” He tipped his head at her then he stood from the floor.
He went back to Serenity’s spot in the room and sat down.
Serenity just stared at him then she nodded. “You have to excuse Briar at times. Mr. C. She’s not used to being around so many people. She grew up all alone and her mouth gets ahead of her thoughts sometimes. She doesn’t mean to sound so uptight or disrespectful. That’s just the way she grew up.”
Sergi smiled faintly. “This I know. Hell, I can even understand it.
Raven is the same way at times. But even now she said something that actually makes sense to me and I want to slap my forehead in surprise.
Like just now, she proposes that this name Pablo Sinclair sounds made up.
Like this man tossed the two names together to create confusion.
She said we have to think outside the box and her directive is right on the mark.
Now that we know that this guy has been on this particular mission for a long time, it only makes sense to look and dig deeper into who he really is.
“Then you won’t mind my saying I have already started digging into Anton’s background for this man?” She grinned at him.
Sergi just shook his head. “The two of you never cease to surprise me.”
Serenity gave him a nod. “Briar came to me a while ago and told me to look as far back as I could on this guy and to for a connection to the name Pablo Sinclair, not to look for the man with that name. It was shortly after she got back from seeing Willy.”
Sergi caught her gaze. “So, you know this man Willy?”
Serenity nodded. “Yeah, I know him. I’ve seen him on several occasions over the years.
He’s a good man. Then despite what you think you knew about him thirty years ago, the street people know he could never do what you accused him of.
That was why Briar wanted the tent and the puppy.
If you will remember, Red and a couple of his men knocked Willy out then burned his camp and they even killed his old dog.
Willy wasn’t doing anything except trying to exist and Red took it all away from him. ”
Sergi stared at her. “I remember hearing this. And Briar, being who she is, wanted to give him his life back.”
Serenity nodded. “She sees a need and tries her best to give it back.”
“I’ve noticed that about her,” Sergi added.
“I admire it. She has been on the streets for most of her life with nothing and yet, she would give her fellow street people whatever she had to keep them safe and well. This is why I strive to earn her respect as well. She is more important than she knows. But right now, I need to convince her and Pippy that it’s time for Willy to speak his own truth. ”
Serenity shook her head. “Willy has kept his own story silent for so long because he thinks he’s going to be dragged back to stand before the council for something he never did.
You may know the truth now but he still fears that.
Some people can’t get past their fear, especially if they have lived with it for a long time. ”
Sergi paused and knew that maybe he could add something to this and help Serenity. “Your father-in-law had suffered with a silent fear of his own. I know this subject is still a bit painful, but if you can find it in your heart to forgive him this fault, maybe you can all be a happier family.”
Serenity stared at him and then let out a sigh. “I have tried to let go of it. But it is still a work in progress. What he did hurt for a long while. I still need time.”
Sergi nodded. “That is natural. I understand.” He reached out and took her hand.
“There is a time for everything under heaven. And that includes past misunderstandings as is the case with Wilhelm-Willy. He doesn’t have to prove a damn thing.
Misha told me all that time ago that Wilhelm didn’t hurt him, that he wouldn’t ambush him and he never believed what the evidence was telling everyone.
I think Wilhelm would come forward for Misha.
So, when Misha gets back from Russia, I can only hope that they can be friends again.
They were friends once upon a time and they could be again, I think. ”
Serenity nodded. “In the meantime, I am looking for this mysterious Pablo. So, let me do my magic and see how far back this really goes. I’ve gone back about ten years and what I’ve found makes me uneasy.
This guy really hates you and he’s been setting you up for a long time.
You aren’t going to be happy with what I’ve found so far.
When I get a full report on it I will give it to you guys. ”
Sergi clenched his hands. “Khorosho, it’s better to know one way or another.
The truth will always come out and some of these old feuds go back a long time.
But we can’t end them if we don’t know all the details.
Find us some answers.” He rapped his knuckles on the table and walked back to where Nikoli and Felix were comparing notes.
Felix looked up and asked, “What did Briar have to say?”
Sergi rocked back and forth on his heels and shared her opinion with him, “She told me to look outside the box to find this Pablo Sinclair.”
“And?” Nikoli prompted.
“And I agree with her,” Sergi admitted. “Maybe we do need to look outside the box.”
Felix asked, “And just what does that mean in this particular situation?”
“Briar says that the name Pablo Sinclair sounds made up. So he is someone hiding his real identity. I agree with that too, because it makes sense. I asked Serenity to find out what this man’s real name might be and what he’s been doing and she’s going to dig deeper.
She’s also looking for a connection between Pablo and this group.
There has to be one somewhere. Otherwise, why would he care about Artemy being captured? ”
Nikoli had been listening and he nodded. “And if anyone can find the connection Serenity can. I’m just happy she’s on our side.”
Sergi nodded at this summation but didn’t say anything.
Time passed slowly as the afternoon progressed.
No other attack happened and they were lulled into a careful watch outside the hotel. The Nomads were watching from the roof while Sergi’s men were down on the streets.
Serenity was still busy on her computer and her search was taking her back in time. She paused at the information she was reading, then she gasped and backed her chair away from the desk. Raising her gaze from her screen, she sought out Sergi’s location.
When their eyes met she announced, “I think you should see this.”
Sergi walked over to her followed by Nikoli and Felix. Sergi kept his eyes on Serenity the whole time. When he finally broke eye contact with her, he looked down at the screen. Grumbling a bit, he glared at the information he saw there.
Nikoli finally asked as he looked perplexed, “What does all this mean?”
Silence was his only answer.