Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Harrison
I see Natalia’s tears — her real tears. I know that I must do everything in my power to keep Stepan out of prison. Maybe we can eventually work out some kind of non-prosecution agreement with the FBI or Justice Department so he can stay free, and Natalia can re-establish their relationship.
It all depends on how amenable he is to cooperation. I have to get to know him better. I have to develop a closer relationship with him so I can judge whether he is salvageable or a lost cause.
When we’re putting on our coats as we say goodnight, he invites me to have lunch with him later in the week so the two of us can talk about ‘mutual business interests’, and I jump at the chance.
“I’d very much like to meet, Stepan,” I say.
“Good, good,” he says and puts his hand on my shoulder. “I am sure we have much to discuss about business and family. I will email you with a time, and you can name the place.”
“Maxims?”
He laughs. “Maxims again? I have spent so much money there over the years, I should be a part-owner. I would love to go.”
We say goodbye, and after a fatherly kiss and hug to Natalia and a handshake and quick hug with me, we part ways and take the stairs to our waiting car.
“How do you think it went?” I ask as we fasten our seatbelts.
“I’m happy,” she replies and takes my hand, squeezing it gently. “I think he really wants us to be a family again.”
Her voice catches at the end, and I know she’s struggling with this game we’re playing.
I hold her hand to my mouth and kiss her knuckles gently. “I know this is hard for you. I wish we were meeting in different circumstances.”
“It is what it is,” she says and glances out the window. “We have to deal with it, right?”
I nod and start the car. “We do. But we can try to make it work for us. I promise you,” I say and squeeze her hand once more. “I will do everything in my power to keep Stepan safe.”
The week goes by quickly, and before I know it, Friday arrives, and it’s time to meet with Stepan to see what he wants to talk about. I already have an idea, but I want to be open to what he has to say.
I kiss Natalia goodbye and wonder what’s really going on with her father.
I know he’s deep in the Russian mafia, but I don’t know the details.
Fogerty hasn’t been willing to share too much intel.
His mantra has been “Just get in with him. Just be his friend. Be his son-in-law. He knows you’re mafia.
He knows your family is mafia. Be a mafioso, for God’s sake,” Fogerty says, shaking his head.
What the hell does he mean by ‘be a mafioso’?
Stepan will know that my own personal business is legit and has been from the start. He’ll know my background in the military. He knows that I was taken from my father when I was young, just as Natalia was taken from him.
I can’t shake the feeling that he will be suspicious of our meeting and any attempts on my part to get in deeper with him. I think what I must do is let him come to me. Let him ask me to become involved with him rather than the other way around.
I can’t be the one who makes the moves.
That’s the only way he’ll trust me. I’ll be honest with him and tell him that I want to get as far from the Irish mafia as I can because it killed my brother, and I think it killed my father.
These internecine wars between groups within the Irish mafia have killed so many.
If I can make Stepan think that’s why I’m leaving, then perhaps he’ll think about being my protection instead of me having to close the business completely.
At least that’s the plan.
“Don’t look too eager,” Fogerty said when we planned the meeting. “But be eager enough.”
I sigh and rub my forehead. What the hell does that mean? Be eager enough…
I drive to Maxim’s and park my vehicle. I walk into the restaurant, enjoying the familiarity of its cool, dark and very polished interior. I see Stepan standing at the bar, chatting with the bartender and go over to his side.
“There you are,” I say and extend my hand. We shake, and Stepan leans in to give me a quick hug.
“Here he is,” Stepan says with a smile. “My new son-in-law. Look at him, Ivan. Isn’t he a catch for my Natalia?”
The bartender smiles and continues to wipe the countertop. “I’ve met Mr. O’Connor many times before.”
“Yes, he loves Maxim’s, so we have that in common besides loving my daughter, of course,” Stepan says and raises his eyebrows. “Shall we have a seat in the back room? It’s waiting for us.”
“By all means,” I say, and follow Stephan to the back of Maxim’s, where a door leads to a private room.
There’s a huge bank of windows overlooking the street. A large seating area with comfortable sofas and a coffee table sits to one side of the room, and on the other is a dining room table with chairs. You can have dinner here and then cocktails afterwards.
“First, we have drink, yes?” Stephan motions to the seating area.
“Yes, please,” I reply with a smile.
We take a seat on the sofas, and a waiter enters the room and comes over to take our order. I order a draft beer, and Stepan has a glass of some variety of vodka that I don’t recognize.
When the waiter leaves us alone, Stepan turns to me. “Now for some business, since we are both businessmen.”
“We are both businessmen,” I say. “But I’m trying to get my family business away from the Andropovs. I don’t trust them. I think they killed my brother.”
“Then you want revenge,” Stepan says and leans forward. “I can help you with that.”
The waiter returns with our drinks, and we are silent while he places them on the coffee table in front of us.
“Thank you,” I say and take my drink in hand. I hold it up to Stepan. “To my new father-in-law. My only father now. May we have a very successful and happy relationship.”
“By all means,” Stepan says and holds up his drink. “To a very successful and happy relationship.”
We take a drink, and then I lean back and sigh, wondering what will happen next.
Stepan leans forward and looks at me with intention.
“I have a business proposal,” he says, his voice serious.
“I will take over Andropov’s route, and you will not lose any money by cutting him off.
You can trust me. Nothing will happen to you or your business because of Natalia.
We are family now. Blood is everything.”
I feel a jolt in my gut at his offer. I thought I’d have to spend much more time appearing reluctant or uninterested so that he could make the move, and here he is making the move right away before I’ve barely said anything.
I can’t believe my luck. I nod slowly and take another drink of my beer.
“I feel like I can trust you, Stepan,” I say and exhale. “I’m not 100% filled in on Andropov’s relationship with my family. I only know that they were using our trucks as part of their shipping process. You tell me what you need, and I’ll make sure it happens.”
He nods and takes a drink of his vodka. “This is good,” he says.
“Both the vodka and this plan. You leave Andropov to me. I will handle him. I don’t want you to have to fight my wars.
You and Natalia should enjoy each other and start a family.
Family is everything. Everything else is just for family. ”
“What’s in it for me?” I raise my eyebrows expectantly.
“I get rid of Andropov, and you make 15% of the clearance fees. That sounds good, yes?”
“That sounds good to me,” I say and hold up my beer for another toast. “Here’s to being in business together,” I say. “May we both be successful in all our endeavours.”
The waiter enters the room with our food, and Stepan points to the table. “Our food is here,” he says. “Now that business is settled, let's eat dinner. I am hungry.”
We move to the dining room table and take our seats, each of us sitting at the end of the table. The waiter leaves our food and then asks if we want another drink.
“Bring a good bottle of wine. Red wine,” Stepan says. “Tell Ivan one of his best bottles, please and thank you.”
The waiter comes back in with a bottle of red wine and presents it to Stepan, who nods in agreement. “Yes, please to open.”
The waiter opens the bottle of wine and pours us each a glass. Stepan turns to me and holds up his glass. “To my son-in-law,” he says. “I am very happy that you and Natalia are together. I will take care of business for us. Together we will make lots of money.”
“That sounds good to me,” I say and take a drink of the wine, which is delicious.
We eat our food, which of course is delicious: some Russian meal with unpronounceable names, but I know that it’s going to be good.
For the next hour, we talk about my business, my personal business.
We talk about my time in the army. We talk about my brother and my father, and I relay my sadness at their loss.
“You leave revenge to me,” Stepan says, nodding his head. “Is best you don’t get involved in the plans. I know how to take care of pesky problems.”
“Thank you so much,” I say and sigh heavily and pointedly. “After the sadness leaves, the anger returns that my brother died so senselessly.”
“You know what they say, ‘revenge is a dish best served cold.’ That means you wait until your blood is cool and not when hot. When blood is hot, you are much more likely to make a mistake and suffer the consequences. My blood is cool. I know how this can be done without your involvement. Now that you are Natalia’s husband and my son-in-law, I don’t want you to be taken away from family life. ”
“I don’t want you to get in trouble either,” I say and take a drink of my wine.
“Not to worry,” Stephan says confidently. “This is not a problem.”
For the rest of the evening, we talk about other issues. Sports that we favor, and we find that we share a love of baseball. After baseball, we discuss shipping and how much Stepan loves his yacht and cruising up the coast.
“One day, I go to Alaska through the Panama Canal. Have you been to Alaska before?” Stepan asks.
I nod. “I was on a ship once as part of a deployment, and we went through. It’s quite the procedure.”
“Ah, yes. I went through as well once. I love sailing, which is why I decided to stay in my family’s business even though I could have stayed in military. We are very much alike, you and I.”
I smile.
He’s right. We are, but unlike him, I want to get out and free myself and my family from the dangers of life inside the organized crime world.
My only hope going forward is to convince Stepan to leave as well.
Family before all else, as he says.