Chapter 28 Anton
ANTON
The war that I planned to bring to Nikolai’s doorstep, I’m bringing here.
After Mikki left, I called my soldiers. The time has come.
We’re launching an attack. None of them questioned my orders or why the location had changed, and that was fine.
It wasn’t for them to know. All they needed to do tonight was follow my orders.
Especially when I only had one target and everyone understood that Vladimir Petrov was mine.
I smirked at him. “Don’t you think it’s a little soon for marriage? I’ve only known her for a couple of months.”
“We’re about to take down another Bratva. People will probably die tonight, Anton.” He’s looking at me with the utmost seriousness in his eyes. “It can’t be for nothing.”
I sighed. “No matter what, Mikki, it won’t be.”
With that settled, we set out. For our meeting place, everyone met about half a mile from the property. Using binoculars, I surveyed what we were dealing with. It was nothing I couldn’t handle. Within the hour, everyone was in place and ready to go.
Now, my men are spread about at the property’s perimeter, sitting in the darkness, waiting for my signal. Vladimir’s home is fairly well-fortified, but nowhere near as thick as it would need to be if he were expecting me.
Just coming up the walk, I picked out several of his men patrolling along the property line and a few standing out in front by his cars. He’s also got cameras set up along the side wall leading to the back area, but I’m willing to bet no one’s watching them tonight.
Still, this will be tricky, but it’s not impossible.
The plan is simple. My men will move in darkness, picking off the ones on the outer rim of the property.
That will be enough to get Mikki and me closer.
And once they’ve cleared the way, we will come straight up the middle while the rest of my men move in shadow, taking out the ones closest to the house.
In the back of my mind, I think about what might’ve happened if I hadn’t found out Vladimir’s plans.
He was far more crafty than I initially believed him to be to set both me and Nikolai up this way.
Had I the time, I’m sure I could have convinced Nikolai to join me.
I doubt I’ll need his forces for Vladmir’s shitty little Bratva.
In the back of my mind, I keep wondering what part of his plan involves Natalya.
He went through all the effort to get her back while planning this campaign against me.
It means something. She means something.
It occurs to me that Vladimir didn’t take her from me because of some fatherly obligation.
He’s planning on using her as part of his campaign to take out his competition.
I don’t want to consider how and I’m not going to wait for him to act. This all has to end tonight.
We see quick lights flash as the outer perimeter guards are taken down. Once I see the last light flicker, Mikki and I move closer.
Vladimir’s property is fairly small. It’s only a few steps before we’re in the bushes, a few yards from the front door.
We watch as two of his men smoke and chatter back and forth while they lean against one of their boss’s cars.
There are three in total, all parked in a row in the circular drive. All the same make and model.
I’m watching the tree line a little ways off, waiting for the next group of signals from my men. Mikki nudges me and points to a camera just above the front door.
“Should we bother with it?” he whispers. “If they don’t see us yet, they won’t see us at all, I think.”
“Leave it,” I say. “By the time they do see us on camera, we’ll be knocking on Vladimir’s door.”
He nods, his eyes narrowing in the darkness as he looks at the two men. As close as we are and they have no idea that we’re waiting to jump them from the bushes. “We’ll have to move fast,” he whispers.
I nod. We need to take these two out quickly and get through that front door in as close to one fell swoop as we can.
After that, we’ll have seconds to get into the house.
The moment Vladimir realizes what’s happening, he will retaliate with firepower.
And once we’re in a gunfight, then anything can happen.
I need to keep control of this for as long as I can.
Just as I’m thinking that, the sound of gunfire in the distance goes off. One round on one end and another round on another. Both men stand up and walk slowly toward the noise, their hands on their guns.
That’s our cue. Mikki starts moving toward the closest man and I maneuver toward his friend. Mikki gets to his guy first, slitting his throat from behind. The other man sees it happen and I know I only have seconds to get him down before he pulls his gun on Mikki.
I get to him in time, wrapping my arm around his neck and squeezing, lifting him up off his feet. A satisfying crunch echoes through my skin as his neck breaks and his body goes limp. I drop him and the two of us head for the door.
I could kick it down. I could do a lot of things, but the center of the door is a decorative stained glass pattern, so I take the easiest path of resistance. I pull my gun out and shoot the glass.
It shatters after the first shot but doesn’t come apart completely until I shoot it twice more. Vladimir’s foyer is in full view as I step up and reach through to unlock the door.
“Look out!” Mikki yanks me back and to the side as a shower of bullets sprays the wood, sending glass and wood everywhere. I cut my arm on the glass in the door as Mikki gets me out of the line of fire.
Then the shots stop. There’s only the tinkling of glass falling and the heavy smell of gunpowder.
“Anton!” I hear from inside. “Is that you, old friend?”
I nod to Mikki to move around the back. He acknowledges and creeps away. “This is how you greet your brother?” I yell back at Vladimir. “I’ve had warmer welcomes in prison.”
I hear him laugh. “I always loved your sense of humor,” he says. “I used to tell Maksim that your dry delivery is part of your charm. He used to respond that your jokes needed work. He never did have much of a sense of humor, I’m afraid.”
“This is true,” I tell him. “But then empires aren’t built on comedic relief.”
The sound of his shoes crunching the glass as he gets closer is unnerving. My hands are sweating against the handle of my gun. “I know Natalya is with you,” I yell. “Let’s talk about this like gentlemen. Put the guns down and have a rational conversation, yes?”
“Oh-ho,” he laughs. “I should say we’re past rational, my friend.”
“Everything can be worked out with a civil enough tongue. Allow her come out to me and we can let bygones be bygones.”
“You’ve got a lot of balls, Anton. A lot of balls.”
His voice is closer. I’m going to have to move, and fast. Before I can do anything, another round of bullets explodes out the door.
I flinch, pulling back from the door and stumbling back toward the bushes.
It’s then that I see one of my men being peppered with bullets.
His body jerks under the force of the bullets riddling his body before he falls to the ground.
I move, running to the other side of his car just as he opens the door and steps out.
I haven’t seen Vladimir since before I left for Russia.
Maybe I’m misremembering how rotund he is, but it seems like he’s actually gained at least fifty more pounds since I left for Russia.
He’s wearing a gray track suit with a jacket that rides up as he waddles slowly outside, his AR-15 in hand.
I glance to the side of the house and see my men posted up by the side, ready to strike. I should just let them light Vladimir up. I still don’t know where Natalya is. I need to be strategic about this.
He’s looking for me toward the bushes where he heard my voice. “Anton? You haven’t run, have you? I hope not. The fun was just starting.”
I don’t have a chance to answer. Gunshots sound from inside the house.
Vladimir flinches and pauses, then turns and runs back inside.
I get up and follow him, doing my best not to be heard before I get to the door.
By the time I get there, I don’t see him in the foyer. I open the door, take two steps in—
A loud drilling of pops fills the hallway, hitting the wall next to me. Plaster falls over me as a sharp burning in my side sends me to my knees.
I grab my side and feel the sticky, hot wetness of the blood from the bullet that hit me.
Fuck…
“Didn’t Maksim ever teach you to check every corner before you walk into a strange place?”
I look up to see Vladimir standing on the stairs, his gun aimed at me. He walks down the rest of the way and stands over me. I raise my gun, but he just kicks it out of my hand and it clatters across the floors.
The next thing I hear is fighting behind me. Gunshots go off and the sound of hand to hand combat. Shit. I must have missed some of Vladimir’s forces. I’ll have to stall Vladimir until they can get to me.
“You were surprisingly easy to defeat,” he says. “All this talk about the ‘Great Lion’ and all along, you were just a cub. Still a cub. It’s a curious thing, is it not?”
“A lot of talk for a man who’s under siege,” I say to him. “As soon as my men are done out there, they will come for you and take your head as a trophy.”
“Big talk for a man on his knees,” he says with a big smile. He studies my face for a long moment, then, “Why did you come here, anyway? Did you figure out my little game? Is that it? Or… or could it be that the big, bad Bratva has his nose open for a little gash from the wrong side of town?”
“That’s rough words for your own daughter.”
He laughs. “Right. Yes, well, at least we can both admit that love is not dead, right? It’s too bad you’re about to be.” He tilts his head and aims his gun down at me.
“I should have realized all along that bait was the only way to really gain power,” he says.
“I wish I’d thought of using Natalya to my advantage instead of letting her do all the work for me.
All well. At least I get to take your head myself.
” He nudges me and adds, “Sit up so I can see your face.”
At least he’s giving me some honor. I sit up straight and look up into his eyes.
“That’s it,” he says. “I will be sure to tell your men that you died well… once they are calling me Pakhan.”
I don’t say anything and I keep my eyes locked with his. Natalya, my love. I hope to meet you again in the next life. Maybe we’ll have a chance then…