Chapter Five
A short time later, Artem brought Viktor and his men in. They all joined the group. The few Ghosts with him were silent yet observant as they stood back against the wall.
Sergi dragged Briar into the conversation to tell them where Pavel had been seen. She described some of what she saw to Viktor, Deter and Grisha.
After this discussion, they all studied the files Viktor’s group had procured when they grabbed Anton and the information Serenity had found.
Sergi looked over at Viktor and shook his head.
“This is one man I never expected to see again, at least not in the flesh. I held him in my arms the night we were ambushed and he died. I believed that he was dead for all these years and now I find it was a scam played out in front of me. I find I was merely a pawn in the game they were playing and now I know that Pavel was behind it from the very beginning.”
“This was a very well thought-out, long-term game. Everyone played their part but the fun is over now.” Viktor shook his head. “This is a sham I will enjoy putting down.”
“Da.” Sergi nodded. “Everyone is busy connecting the lines right now. But we need your men and the Ghosts to bring Pavel in. He might not be alone out there. He might have his own men waiting and watching from their hidey-hole. And we don’t know how many men he does have, so you have to be careful before you go in to grab him up.
” He looked over at Briar. “Briar began watching him a few months back without knowing who he was. She is the one who told us about him and where we could find him.”
Briar shrugged. “There was just something off about the way he would come around and watch this hotel. I just followed him, that’s all.
” She hesitated then said, “Then one day he saw Sergi coming into the hotel and he just froze. You could almost feel the rage radiating off him. That was the day I knew he was dangerous. I prayed Sergi was even more dangerous, but I didn’t know him at all back then. Then a few days later, I met you all.”
“And am I as dangerous?” Sergi teased her.
She cocked an eyebrow at him.
Sergi actually chuckled.
Now Viktor raised a brow.
Felix shook his head as did Artem.
“Anyway, that was before I met all of you.” She shrugged.
Viktor snorted. “Oh yeah and we all remember how well that first meeting went.”
Upon being reminded of this, Briar looked over at Felix and glared at him. When she had helped to rescue Zeta and Anita, Felix a had accused her of being in on it and he even slapped her when she got belligerent.
He shook his head and sighed in disgust. “Damn, this again? I have apologized for that over and over. I have tried to be—
“Rude and a bully?” She raised her arm as proof. “You just bullied me again by grabbing my wrist like that!”
“Ok... again, I am sorry. But you are just so infuriating, so stubborn.”
Sergi scoffed. “Family trait.”
Felix shook his head and tried to ignore his boss’ comment. Staring at his newfound cousin, he asked her, “What the hell more can I do?”
“I told you already.” Briar glared at him.
Felix wore that stony expression of his now. “I can’t do that.”
“Do what?” Viktor asked him while looking curious.
Felix slowly shook his head, refusing to answer.
“I want him and I to have a real fight in a ring,” Briar replied.
Everyone in the room stared at her.
“I do not fight women. I cannot,” Felix snapped.
“I have to agree with that,” Viktor gave his opinion.
Artem shook his head as he probably agreed with both men, but he didn’t speak.
“It isn’t up to you though, is it?” Briar snapped at him.
“See? So difficult, so aggravating.” Felix tossed his large arms up in disgust and griped, “She’s like sandpaper on a rash.”
At the odd comparison, Sergi looked over at him. “The hell, Felix?”
The men all laughed as even Serenity giggled.
Briar shrugged. “I raised myself in a cold world that is unforgiving. In places that were sketchy and dangerous. You expect me to be a flower girl tossing pedals while dancing around like a fairy, spouting sweet phrases and blowing kisses at everyone?”
Felix snorted loudly. “That would be a nice change.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at him. “I think you are scared,” she accused.
Felix slowly raised his head to ask her, “Of what?”
“Of a girl...Beating. You.”
He stared at her then he tilted his head back and laughed. Felix was probably the largest man in the room at six foot 6 and 325 pounds. And that was a feat to do considering many of them were fighting men in great shape with soldier backgrounds.
Briar bristled and shook her head.
“What made you remember this guy out of all the people you’ve seen in this city?” Viktor asked her as he smoothly changed the subject.
“Serenity found a very old picture of him and she mentioned the scar on his face,” Briar explained.
“Then Sergi said it was from an accident in his childhood. That was when I made the connection. The man I’d been watching had a scar too.
And it looked wicked. It went from his eyebrow to his jaw.
When I showed him the picture of him on my phone, Sergi knew him. ”
Viktor gave her a nod then he looked at Sergi. “We’ll deliver him to you as soon as we can. We might have to fight to get to him.”
Sergi nodded. “Do what you have to do, just bring him in alive. I want him to face me. After all the lies, all the deception. And everything he’s been doing all these years, I want to see him face to face, to look him in the eyes and maybe break his jaw.”
Viktor raised an eyebrow at this part but didn’t say a word.
Briar turned to Felix and asked, “Can you show us the cameras? The ones around the hotel showing the outside of the hotel?”
“Why?” Felix asked.
“I want to check something,” she told him.
Felix glanced at Sergi then at his nod, he turned around and began switching on the cameras surrounding the outside of the hotel.
Briar searched the camera views carefully. It wasn’t until she looked at the last camera that she froze and raised her hand to point this one out.
A man stood back in the shadows. He wasn’t moving as he appeared to be almost like a statue. And that was strange to see, but the angry look on his face didn’t bode well for someone.
Felix turned his focus to Briar. “Who is this guy? Do you know him?”
Briar just stared at him then she shook her head. “I don’t know him but I’ve seen him with the angry looking scarred guy. He is even stranger if that is possible.”
Sergi stepped closer and stared at the image. “It’s not Pavel.” He glanced over at Felix. “Can you get us a photo? We can run it through facial rec then real ID and Interpol.”
Felix snapped a shot and sent the file to Kirill.” You should have it.”
A moment later, Kirill then put it on the screen and hit the run button. The picture came up and the facial program was initiated, doing its job. Kirill looked up and said, “This might take a while.”
Sergi nodded. “We need to grab this loser too. Just to be on the safe side.”
Briar looked up and whispered a warning, “Be careful he has a blade or three and I don’t think he would hesitate to use them.”
Viktor paused at this and asked, “How do you know that?”
She nodded at the photo on Felix’s screen. “I’ve seen him do it. He and the man with the scar often practiced their knife-play together. They don’t talk when they do it. It’s usually when no one else is around but they don’t hesitate to draw blood on each other.”
Viktor looked over at Sergi.
He gave him a nod and said, “We need to know who this chudak is and quickly.”