Chapter 34 Mass
MASS
The warship cuts through the choppy waves. It's moving in a slow arc around the island, keeping well out of radar range. The high-tech drone can barely keep track of the sleek ship without giving itself away.
Lucy zooms the feed. There are men on deck carrying rifles, and a massive gun is bolted to the front frame. “I believe he’s on board.” She zooms in to a window, but the image is too pixelated. “I haven’t seen him yet, though.”
“What about Satya and Rosie?”
“Their boat is tethered along back.” She maneuvers the drone until the small vessel is clearly outlined by the water. “I’m about ninety percent certain that’s it.”
I stare at the image on the screen. Medved’s warship. Rosie and Satya are on board. Coldness shivers over me.
My family is in the clutches of my greatest enemy.
“What’s the battle plan?”
“Enzo’s working on something now. We’ve got vessels moving into the area and several attack helicopters capable of reaching it within hours.”
“Hold off for now.” I keep staring as Lucy controls the drone, moving it closer to get a better view.
Then suddenly, the big gun on the deck spins around.
“What’s it doing?” I ask, squinting in alarm. But before Lucy can answer, the gun muzzle flares and the screen goes black. “Did the drone just go offline?”
Lucy types furiously and shakes her head. “Looks like they shot it out of the sky. That’s some advanced targeting.” She sounds honestly impressed.
But a moment later, Lady’s voice echoes from the speakers. “Incoming communication via encrypted channel. Patch through?”
I exchange a look with Lucy, who gives me a quick nod. “Patch it through to this room only, please.”
“Confirmed. Begin call now.” Lady’s voice disappears.
Replaced by a low, masculine baritone.
“Hello, Massimo. I hope you’re doing well. It’s been a long time since we last spoke like this.”
Medved. I stare at the black screen and don’t move for a moment. He continues to wait, likely content with letting me stew.
“You destroyed my drone.”
“I did.” He sounds amused. “Wasn’t very difficult.”
“I’d like a replacement.”
A wry chuckle. “I’m sure we can put together an arms deal if that’s what you’d like. But here I was thinking you’d want to discuss something else.”
I take a deep breath. “You have my daughter.”
“I do.” He sounds very pleased with himself. “I assure you, it wasn’t easy.”
“How did you convince her to turn on me? What did you offer her?”
“Not everyone is so enamored of you, Massimo. Some of them simply want more money.”
I clench my jaw. The idea that Satya might betray me and steal my daughter for something so low as money makes my chest ache.
“I want her back.”
“I’m sure you do. That’s why I called. I figured you’d want to negotiate.”
“What do you want for her?”
“You know what I want. It’s the same thing I’ve always wanted.” His voice takes on a sick, almost manic edge. “I want to be a Dragon.”
“That isn’t going to happen. I’m not stepping down.”
“Not you. I want Thorne, and I know you have him.”
I say nothing at first. Nobody is sure where Thorne is, except for me and Lucy.
But if Satya’s been here for years and if she turned against me a while back, she might’ve had a long time to put certain things together.
She wouldn’t be allowed in the west wing, but several nurses are.
And they might’ve told her they’ve been treating an old, legless man.
Medved wouldn’t need much more to figure it out.
“Elias Thorne in exchange for my daughter.”
Medved barks a laugh. “More than fair, I’d say.”
“Then you’ll kill the old man and take his position. Is that the plan?”
“Simple as that. We’ll become equals and I’ll leave you alone. I won’t need you anymore.”
I glance at Lucy. I highly doubt Medved’s ever going to stop until I’ve been ruined. We’ve come too far to back down now.
He’s like me. Once he starts, he doesn’t quit.
If I do this, I’ll be turning my back on an old friend. I’ll give my greatest enemy his fondest wish and ensure that he’ll double in power overnight. He’ll become even more dangerous than he already is.
“You have a deal.”
“Wonderful.” Medved sounds genuinely happy. “Come to my boat. Come alone. Bring Thorne. You hand him over, I give you back the little girl, and we go our separate ways. Simple and easy.”
“Five hours. Drop anchor and stay where you are.”
“No more drones or surveillance ships, please. Anything I see will be shot from the sky.”
“I’ll approach soon.”
“See you then, Dragon Cardone. I look forward to it.” He kills the call.
The room plunges into silence. Lucy watches me carefully. She’s trying to read my mood, and I can’t blame her.
I’m a mess of emotions.
But I push myself to my feet. Weariness makes me feel heavy, but I don’t have time for that. “Prepare our people. We’ll leave shortly.”
“Understood.” I walk to the door, thinking of all the ways this will go wrong. I’m about to create a monster. And I have to give up someone I care about to do it. “You’re making the right choice,” Lucy calls after me.
I highly doubt it.
Elias doesn’t even hesitate. “I’ll do it.”
I hate those words. Somehow, he makes this mess even worse. “Just like that?”
“She’s my granddaughter and I’m old as sin. I know what’s going to happen to me out there, but it’s going to happen eventually in here, too. I’m done, Massimo. I’ve been finished for a long time, but I haven’t been strong enough to admit it. At least this way, I can go out on my own terms.”
I pace across my friend’s room. “It doesn’t have to be like this. We can come up with another way.”
“Medved wants me. He’s wanted me for a long time, and you know it. This is the only way he’ll ever truly give the girl back. She’s a prize, but I’m an even bigger one.”
I hate that he’s parroting the exact arguments I’ve been making in my head back to me.
“What should I do about your people?”
Elias rubs his chin in thought. “Take them. Get them away from Medved. Do what you can, but if any part of my operation wants to defect to the new Dragon, don’t stop them. Show mercy.”
“You’re getting soft in your old age.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. If some of them do choose to help that Russian bastard, that means your life will be that much more difficult. But I owe them a clean break at least.”
“It speaks highly of your leadership that you’ve been able to hold your organization together for as long as you have while staying here.”
“Luck, I think, and I spent a long time out in the world building a rock-solid network. But thank you, old friend.”
I sink down into the chair beside him, feeling heavy and exhausted. “You really don’t have to do this.”
“I don’t have to save my own granddaughter from the man I hate most in this world?”
“You’re sacrificing yourself.”
He sighs and shakes his head. “When you get to my age, you start to think about what it all means. What was the point of all this? Why all the death? The killing? The power? If in the end, I’m as frail as any other man?
This is a chance to spit in the face of my own fate.
I can choose how I end my story. I’ll have been a Dragon, a hidden Dragon, and a sacrificial Dragon.
People will talk about what I did for a long time. ”
“I hope you’re right. And thank you, Elias. You don’t know what this means to me.”
“Raise her right.” His face gets serious. “I mean it, Massimo. Raise that girl the best you can. Don’t spoil her, but make her comfortable. Teach her what it means to be a Dragon’s daughter.”
“I have a feeling Allie will handle that.”
Elias sighs and leans back deeper into his bed. “That girl came out right. I tried to have a hand in her, but Medved made that all but impossible. Despite everything I did for them, her father nearly ruined their family anyway, the stupid bastard. At least Allie and her brothers are decent.”
I decide now is probably not the time to mention that I have Gabe in the medical ward with a mangled ear and a whole host of impact injuries.
“They’re your legacy.”
“I suppose.” Elias looks at me straight. “When Medved ascends to power, he’ll be a problem. Check him at every turn. Don’t let the other Dragons ignore his influence. Make them understand that he’s a problem.”
“Still playing the power game, even right now.”
He laughs darkly. “Can’t help myself.”
I spend some more time talking to the old Dragon, and when I leave, he seems at peace, even though I’m a mess internally.
Lucy meets me in the hall.
“Is this happening?”
“Get everyone moving. The hidden Dragon leaves today.”