6. Alex
ALEX
“Another round?” It’s Gedeon asking, and personally, I think he’s already had enough. I’m not sure whose idea this was, but here we are, sitting in the VIP booth at the club.
Rikki. I think this was Rikki’s idea. Everyone here knows that my marriage tomorrow is bullshit, but for some reason, we have to have a traditional ‘one last night of freedom’.
It’s ironic. Any of these girls in this club could be my future wife.
They're all young and half-naked with nothing more to offer the world but their bodies.
Nothing to offer me except a night of sex, something I could get anywhere if I wanted.
The longer I watch the dance floor, the less I want to stick around. But I’m sucking it up. For Rikki’s sake. He wanted to do this thing for me and I’m going to let him. It’s the very least that I can do.
I’ve been sitting here like a lump on a log, though, nursing my drink and just… I don’t know. I wasn’t much of a club kind of guy before this. Not sure why Rikki thought I’d be one now.
Kostya nudges me and says, “Hey. You want another drink or what?”
I look over at the three of them, looking back at me from their places around the table. Gedeon is sitting directly opposite of me and has a big smile on his face. He’s about a drink or two away from being drunk off his ass. You’d think this was his bachelor party.
“I’m good,” I say, pushing my glass out of my reach.
“Come on,” Gedeon says. “One more round. You’ve been over there sulking all night, man.”
I sigh and say, “Fine.”
I don’t think I get the word all the way out before he’s waving down the waitress.
Rikki says, “You don’t seem like you’re enjoying this very much, Alex.”
“Probably because I’m not,” I say.
“You know, I thought about taking you to a strip bar instead.”
Gedeon scowls. “Seriously? We could have been seeing tits and ass right now?”
“It’s not my thing.” I say that more to Gedeon than my brother. Rikki knows that already.
“Maybe if you drank more,” Kostya says with a smile. “Come on, it’s not the end of the world. Nona Sokolov is a beautiful girl. Really beautiful, actually. Way too pretty to have come from Slavik.”
“Seriously,” Gedeon says. He hiccups and burps before adding, “Her mother must have been a supermodel.”
“Well, gentlemen, that’s kind of the problem.
I’m fairly sure that’s all she is,” I say.
They all give me three versions of the same skeptical look.
“It would just be nice if I had something in common with her since we’re both obligated to do this marriage thing.
Or, I don’t know, maybe if I were able to get more time to get to know her. ”
“Sounds to me like that wouldn’t make much of a difference,” Rikki says.
“You’re doing your job,” Kostya interjects.
“Her level of intelligence doesn’t matter, does it?
If a can of paint was the key to peace between the Irkutsks and us and you had to marry it, would it really be any different?
” I shrug and he rolls his eyes. “Alex, this is a job. That’s all.
That’s never been a problem before and it isn’t a problem now.
That’s the way you have to look at this.
It’s a contract. A deal that needs to be made. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
“A deal,” I say. “Right.”
“I think you’re all looking at this the wrong way,” Gedeon says. “Yeah, okay, this is a job and all, but this could also be your one great love, Alex. You’re not giving it a real chance.”
We all break up into laughter. “What the fuck are you talking about?” I say. “I don’t know this woman.”
“So? You’ll get to know her,” he says with a shrug. “Look, you two are going to be stuck together for a long, long, long time. At some point, you’re bound to find something about her that you like.”
“He’s got a point.” Rikki chortles. “There has to be something about her that you can tolerate.”
“And not every marriage is perfect, anyway,” Gedeon adds. “Look at me and Liz. We’re about as opposite as you can get and we make it work. There is something about Nona Sokolov that you can get with. I know it.”
I cross my arms, not really wanting to take part in this line of discussion, but I do think about it. “She’s got a nice ass,” I say. “And a great body.”
Kostya snorts a laugh while taking a drink and Rikki just shakes his head. “That’s one up on a can of paint, I guess,” he says, and the two of them start laughing again.
“Here’s a question,” Gedeon jumps in. “Would you rather she be ugly with a great personality or pretty with no personality?”
“Geddy, this is a stupid conversation.”
“Just answer the question, man. If she were butt-ugly but you two had hit it off at that dinner, where would you be right now? Would you be all for this thing?”
“You know,” I say, “you make it sound like I completely ignore beautiful women. I don’t. I’m just old enough to understand that marrying a woman just because she’s pretty is bullshit.”
“And I’m saying that you’re no different from any one of us.” His jovial attitude drops slightly as he narrows his eyes at me. “We all want them to be more than just a nice ass, but you can’t tell me that it doesn’t help if they do have one.”
I sigh heavily. “Fine, then. If I had to choose, I’d rather have both beauty and a great personality.”
“That is a cop out.” Gedeon laughs. “You have to choose one or the other.”
I scowl at him. “That’s not realistic. And anyway, girls who have both are a fantasy. It doesn’t exist.”
“It could,” Gedeon says as the waitress walks up with a tray of drinks. “If you gave it a chance.”
I can’t help but laugh at the sudden stars in Gedeon’s eyes. He and my little brother have been best friends since they were boys and he’s a top brigadier right alongside me. In all these years, I’ve never known him to talk like this about anything.
“What?” Gedeon says as I laugh. “Is it something I said?”
“Yes. Geddy, don’t take this the wrong way, but you sound… well, you sound whipped, my friend. What’s Liz done to you, friend? Are you going to start slapping your Boeviks with rulers when they step out of line?”
“I am not whipped,” he says sorely. “I’m just happily married to the perfect woman, thank you very much. But it didn’t happen naturally. You know it took some time for me to really come around to her.”
Kostya snorts, trying to contain a laugh, and Rikki says, “We’ve all seen your wife, Geddy. How long could it have possibly taken to come around?”
“Maybe he means her,” Kostya says behind another sip of his drink.
“It took me longer than you might think,” he says. “I’m like our dear brother Alex. Looks alone won’t cut it for me. I had to start seeing her for who she really was, and once I did, all I could see was my future. I wouldn’t have one without her.”
Kostya, Rikki, and I exchange glances across the table. “Yeah, he’s whipped,” Rikki says as he takes a drink.
We all laugh, and it feels good. I have my brothers. They are the one constant in my life, at least.
The subject changes and we start sharing a little bit of shop talk across the table.
Nothing that could incriminate us if overheard, of course.
We’re all veterans in this game at this point and know better than that.
As we talk, I notice movement out of the corner of my eye.
A second later, two women walk up to our table.
They’re both pretty, both blonde. In this light, they kind of look like sisters.
“Having a good time?” one of them asks.
“We are,” says Kostya. “What about you? Having fun tonight?”
“We definitely are,” the one on the right says. “My friend here wants to know if any of you would like to dance.”
Gedeon immediately says, “Sorry, I’m married.”
“We’re not married,” Rikki says, pointing to himself and Kostya. “He motions his head sideways. “You in?”
Kostya finishes his drink and says, “All right, let’s go.”
Rikki pushes Gedeon, urging him to move. Both he and I get out of the booth, letting them out. They take the girls’ hands and walk toward the dance floor.
Gedeon and I sit back down and he says, “You should have gone.”
“No chance I was going,” I say immediately.
He smiles and nods. “Not for nothing, though, Alex, but at the end of the day, I think what you’re doing is noble. More than noble, actually. It’s the kind of decision that a future Pakhan makes.”
“Glad you think so,” I say.
“Everyone thinks so. All the brigadiers, the boeviks… I even hear the Sixes are into this move. The common consensus is that the sacrifice you’re about to make speaks to your commitment to this Bratva. We all appreciate it.”
I don’t respond at first. I take a drink, accepting the compliment, then I thank him and add, “I’m only doing what any true brother would do.
This Bratva is my lifeblood, my legacy. I don’t plan on running it anytime soon, but when that day comes, it means a lot to me to know that my brothers are behind me. ”
“We are. One hundred and ten percent.” He raises his glass and we clink them. “Tomorrow might seem like the worst day of your life, but trust me, man. What you’re doing is going to make us all stronger. With any luck, we’ll be running Manhattan before winter.”
That’s an interesting thought. A Bratva so big that we absorb all the other gangs on the island. The Dominicans and Italians. Even the smattering of black gangs will know not to fuck with us.
Yeah. He’s right. This is all about duty in the end. Not my own personal preferences. My brothers are counting on me. My father, my Pakhan, is counting on me.
So, after tomorrow, I’ll make it work with Nona. And whatever that looks like, we’re staying united for the good of our families.
You can always tell when the club is starting to wind down. The dance floor gets more and more empty and the music gets more and more lame. The bartenders start cleaning up and the hardcore drunks start stumbling out.
The four of us are about done as well. We leave in formation, Rikki in front, me second, Kostya and Gedeon bringing up the rear. The bartenders even wave us out.
We step outside in the chill of the spring night. At some point during our time here, it started raining, but it’s only misting now. The cement is as shiny as glass and the smell of rain is thick on the breeze.
“Spring weather,” Rikki gripes as he pulls the collar of his jacket up. Gedeon nudges him with a big smile.
“A little rain too much for the monster, huh?” he says in Russian.
“Fuck off,” Rikki responds in kind.
I glance up at the sheet of mist around us. We should have gotten a car service. I hear Kostya in my ear. “Boss, heads up.”
I look over at him just as he nods his head to the side.
I glance in the direction to see two men watching us from the lot next door.
They’ve got the same swagger as we all do, even in their long trench coats and hats pulled down over their faces.
Both of them look away the second I turn my head toward them. I turn back to Kostya.
“What do you think?” he asks. “Feds?”
I shake my head. “They’re Bratva. Or at least another gang. Maybe Italians or Dominicans.”
“What’s up?” Rikki asks. I look up to see him looking back, alerted.
“We got an audience,” says Kostya.
Rikki gives a sly look over his shoulder and spots them. “What’s the play?”
There are several things we could do. We could ignore them, walk to the car, see if they jump before we get there. Or maybe see if they follow us.
I’m not really in the mood for cat and mouse games tonight, though. I’ve got a long day tomorrow of getting married to a stranger. I’ve neither the time nor the energy for whatever they’re looking to do.
“Geddy,” I say, “go get the car and bring it around. I’m going over and saying hello to them.”
“Hey,” Kostya says, grabbing my arm. “Let’s not spend the evening with Marius patching us up.”
“You worry too much.”
Rikki and I turn and start walking toward the men. One of them sees us move. He nudges his partner. Between the flickering streetlight above us and the mist of rain around us, I don’t get a good look at the faces under the brims of their hats.
“Hey!” Rikki shouts. “You two want something?”
They leave the fence and start walking away. We follow. After a few steps, they realize that we’re not giving up the pursuit and they break into a run. We run after them.
They turn the corner at the end of the block. By the time we get to the corner, they’ve jumped into a car. The headlights come on and they speed off, tires squealing in the night.
“Should we tell Father about this?” Rikki asks.
“Yes, but not until after the wedding. I don’t want to spoil his mood.”