Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Harrison
We spend the night in each other’s arms after a comforting Skype session with Gramps, who shrugs the whole event off as if it were nothing.
“I did a stint with SWAT back in the day,” Gramps says with a chuckle. “I was prepared. Given what you told me, Natalia, I figured something might happen, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.”
“I’m so sorry that you were involved at all,” Natalia says, and there’s real grief in her voice. “We never meant for you to be involved. But maybe now, it’s close to being over, and we can all go back to a new normal. A better normal, hopefully.”
“I hope and pray,” Gramps says. “At least part of the crime underworld might be taken down for a while, but only for a while. Don’t ever think that the gap the Andropov family takedown makes won’t be filled by some other hopeful group of thugs.”
“Sadly, that’s the truth,” I say and nod in agreement. On the monitor, Gramps looks pretty good for an old guy who was taken captive by the Russian Mafia and rescued by the FBI SWAT team.
We say goodbye and promise to get together for a nice Sunday dinner once all this is over.
Then, Natalia and I go to our rooms to get ready for a bath, but before we can, we kiss, and that starts everything.
I can’t wait, and neither can she. Both of us feared we might never see the other alive, so our lovemaking is almost desperate, urgent and afterward, we both finally collapse, the pleasure momentarily wiping out all the fear and anger at everything that happened.
Natalia runs a bath, and we sink into it together, Natalia in my arms, the bubbles all around us, and just luxuriate in the warmth of the water and each other.
“I’m so glad that’s over,” she says and strokes my arm. “I still have to talk to my father, and I’m not so sure he’ll be very cooperative, but I guess if it’s jail time or helping the FBI, he’ll take the sane choice.”
“I’m sure he will. He’s not a stupid man.”
“I’m going to call him,” she says. “It’s not too late. He’s a night owl anyway.”
“If you think it’s wise. Maybe it’s better to wait and see what happens with the operation.”
She shakes her head. “I want him to know so he can be prepared for the new reality.”
I nod. We finish bathing and get out, dry off and get into our pajamas. Then, Natalia brings her laptop into her office, and we sit in front of it.
She calls him up on the laptop, and together, we wait for him to answer.
He does, his handsome older man’s face appearing on the screen.
“Natalia, Harrison, how are you? To what do I owe this pleasure? The two of you look like you’re ready for bed!”
Natalia laughs, and then her tone abruptly changes. “Father, we have to talk.”
His expression becomes serious. “I’m listening.”
She tells him about the operation and what’s happening. She confesses that we’ve been working with the FBI all along and explains why. Then, she tells him about the FBI’s demands.
“You have to agree to collaborate in cleaning up the Andropov mess, and if you do, you can remain free and can take over their part of the shipping business, but you have to keep lines of communication open. You have to become an asset.”
His face is impassive for a moment, and then he shakes his head slowly. “O boh-zheh moy,” he says. “My God, Natalia. What have you done?”
“I had no choice, Father. And neither do you if you want to be free, and if you want our family to be kept out of prison. If you do, call your lawyer and have him contact the FBI tomorrow. You need to sit down with them and make a deal. It’s that, or they’re coming for you next.
And me. And Harrison. All of us. I don’t want my baby to be born in prison. ”
He says nothing for a moment and looks away, like he can’t bear to look at Natalia and me. Finally, he looks at the screen again and sighs audibly.
“I was afraid this day would come,” he says. “Given how honorable a man Harrison is and you, solnyshko.”
“We had no choice, either,” Natalia says. “Once I was involved with Harrison, because of what I did in the bank, they had me. I would have gone to prison otherwise. The same with Harrison. It’s our deal with the lesser of the two devils.”
Stepan nods in understanding. “So, Harrison, my new son-in-law. This makes you the King in your family. You will soon understand what that means and understand how difficult it has been for me to,” he says and shakes his head. “Extricate myself from our business.”
“I do understand,” I say. “But I’m no King. I have to cooperate with the FBI until they’re satisfied that my debt is paid, but once it is, my family’s business will be shut down, sold off, and I’ll probably go back to heading my investment firm instead.”
“That’s sad,” Stepan says. “To end such a long-standing family business like O’Connor Enterprises. There must be a way to get out, no?”
I shake my head. “If there is, my father would have succeeded. You can see what it did to him when he tried to leave. Two sons dead, and he’s dead, too. I’m afraid the business is far too tied to the underworld to survive.”
“You are a very smart young man, Harrison. If anyone can figure out how, I’m sure you will. Think of the future.”
“I’d love to keep it going, but right now, it looks like selling it off once the FBI clears us of our debt is our best bet. We’ll see how it goes over the next few months.”
“Well,” Stepan says and nods. “I will let you two go. Now, I must call my lawyer and figure out how to proceed.”
“Please, Father, cooperate,” Natalia says, her voice almost tearful. “I don’t want to lose anyone else.”
He nods. “I will consider.”
Then the call ends, and Natalia closes her laptop. I can tell she’s not really very happy. While Stepan didn’t outright reject the idea of cooperation, he wasn’t happy about it either.
I understand because at first, I had a deep desire for revenge, but in the end, it’s better to be free than to have revenge and be in prison.
As Stepan said, revenge is best served cold. When your blood is hot, revenge feels good but it potentially has very bad consequences. When your blood is cold, revenge is sweet, especially if it’s served with justice.
Natalia turns to me, and her eyes are filled with pain. “What do you think he’ll do?”
“He’s a smart man. You don’t get where he is without being very intelligent. He’ll talk to his lawyer, who will encourage him to cooperate. At this point, anything else is suicide, and Stepan is not suicidal in any way.”
I pull her into my arms, and we embrace for a long moment. It feels good, and I don’t pull away, letting Natalia decide when she feels good enough to separate.
Later, I get a call, and it’s Fogarty on the line.
I point to my cell and mouth, business and point to the stairs.
She understands I’m going to my office and nods, turning back to the game we were watching together.
I leave the living room and go to my own office so I can speak in private.
Not that I don’t trust Natalia, but I don’t want her worrying any more than she has to.
She’s been through enough.
“We’re going after the other branches of the Andropov family.
It’s going to be a busy day, and I want the two of you to stay put.
Don’t venture out for anything. If you need groceries or food, just ask one of the men I have guarding you to arrange Uber Eats or something.
A lot is going down, and it’s going to be a very tense afternoon and evening. ”
“Okay,” I say, and for a moment, there’s a silence on the line. I want to talk to him about Ryan and Tommy, but I’m not sure when I should broach the subject.
“Is there anything else, Harrison?” he asks, as if he already knows.
“Well, yes, there is,” I say, rubbing my forehead, deciding at the last minute to reveal what I know about my father’s death.
I tell him, piece by piece, what I know and how I know it.
“I have this friend. Former Ranger. Contacted me with some intel he came across, that directly implicates my uncles in the deaths of my father and brother.”
I tell it all, every single sordid detail.
Fogarty is silent, as if the news isn’t shocking him in any way.
“Well,” I say, impatient to hear his take. “What do you think?”
“I have enough to take them both into custody,” he says.
“We already knew about the connection between Tommy and the man seen on security cameras entering and leaving the warehouse the night of the fire. As for Ryan, well, he’s a co-conspirator.
We can pick him up, too. I need to see those intercepts,” he says, his voice firm.
“They won’t be used as direct evidence, but I still need them to justify my actions. ”
“I can’t reveal my source,” I say, adamant that I won’t betray Fillmore. “He can’t reveal his source. But if all you want is the document, I can provide that.”
“Sure,” Fogarty says. “It’ll be enough to get the ball rolling. We’ll take them both into custody, give them both a chance to cooperate to get a better deal, and if they agree and help us dismantle more of the network they’re involved in, it will help.”
“I want justice,” I say, anger in my gut that my father was betrayed by his own brothers.
“We want it, too, but remember. The whole underworld is a network, and taking down one little node has barely any effect on the whole. If Ryan and Tommy can help us get the really big fish, there will be some leniency. Reduced sentences, better conditions, wherever they are going to be staying. That kind of thing.”
I have to close my eyes and take in a deep breath to stop my own selfish desire for blood. I know that getting as much cooperation from Tommy and Ryan will help the FBI in the bigger picture, but it still hurts.
“Okay,” I say. “I’ll send you the document using an encrypted channel. No identifying ID or anything.”
“Sure thing. Remember: give this a few weeks, and it will all settle down. Once we have Andropov and Ivanov kingpins in custody, the smaller pieces will fall into place, and your lives will return to normal as promised. It’s up to you what you do with it once you’re both free.”
“Got it,” I say, and we end the call. I send him the intercepts via a secure channel and go back to the living room, where Natalia is waiting. She smiles when she sees me and pats the sofa next to her.
“All done?”
“Yes,” I say and sigh as I sit beside her, my arm around her shoulder. I kiss her and turn back to watch the game on the big screen.
Finally, it’s over. There’s nothing else for Natalia and me to do but wait. What happens over the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours is up to the FBI and is out of our hands if we both want to be free.
We can go back to living our lives…