12. Alex #2
“He might. Really, man. How do you know he doesn’t by now?” Gedeon says. “I mean, we are in an alliance. Maybe your father and him have been talking.”
I glance over my shoulder at him. “If that were true, then we’d know about the Irkutsk locations, wouldn’t we? My father wouldn’t just hand over that information without something in return. Peacetimes or not.”
“I’m more interested in where this man came from,” said Rikki. “He could be a random sent by Slavik. Could also be from another gang.”
I shake my head. “Either way, I think I’d better have a sit down with Dad. If there is something going on that we don’t know about, then he needs to let us in on it.”
“Roger that.”
“Let’s get out of here,” I say as I turn and walk away. Rikki and Gedeon follow, and all the while, a million scenarios are running through my mind. None of them are good.
I got up early this morning, leaving my sleeping wife untouched once again.
On the way to my father’s house, I called Yeva and told her to bring her some breakfast while I talked with him.
She groggily told me that she would do it, but, once more, she was less than thrilled about it.
Yeva doesn’t like to wake up before ten on any given day.
I’m just glad she agreed in the first place.
By the time I get to his house, my father is in his den, having his morning cup of coffee. He’s wearing his pajamas as he lounges in his chair, reading a book with his reading glasses sitting on the end of his nose.
“It’s early,” he says without looking up. “What’s so important that it couldn’t wait until a more reasonable hour?”
His tone reads as annoyed, and I don’t blame him. If one of my men came knocking on my door at this hour, I’d be pissed, too. “Something went down last night that I need to ask you about.”
He looks up at me without moving his head. His eyes dart back down to his book. “Go ahead.”
“My men caught somebody who was trying to break into the Central Park warehouse last week,” I tell him. “Last night, we handled him, but not before he told us that Slavik was the one who sent him.”
My father sets the book down on his lap and takes off his glasses. “What?”
“He claimed to be Irkutsk and said that Slavik sent him. Only… he clearly wasn’t Irkutsk. No tats. Couldn’t speak a word of Russian. Barely knew what a shestyorka is, yet he claimed to be one.”
“That’s interesting, but why are you bringing this to me if you handled him?”
“Well, Dad, what if Slavik did send this guy? This merger has only been a thing for less than a couple of weeks. How sure are we that he’s as dedicated to this as we are?”
“You just said this man wasn’t from Slavik’s gang.”
“Doesn’t mean he didn’t send him.”
My father sighs and says, “Alex, is there something going on that you want to talk about with me? Something with your marriage?”
I scowl at him in confusion. “No. I want to talk about this guy who tried to break into one of my warehouses.”
“Right. You know, you’ve been on edge since you got married. Now I know that this arrangement isn’t what you wanted, but I thought you understood that this wasn’t about you. It’s about duty.”
I just stare at him. I feel like I’m suddenly in the Twilight Zone. “I’m sorry, Dad. I don’t understand. What does my marriage have to do with this situation?”
He sets his book aside and stands. “The brothers are talking about you, Son. The word around the campfire is that your new bride is frigid and that’s why you’ve been so high-strung lately.”
I have to clench my jaw to keep from barking at him.
“I’m not ‘high-strung’. I haven’t been any different than I normally am, and right now, I happen to be concerned that there might be something going on with Slavik and the Irkutsks that we should address.
That you should address. Like maybe somebody isn’t honoring this whole treaty between our Bratvas. ”
“I assure you, all is well between Slavik and me.”
“So, you’re best friends now?”
He smirks at me. “Of course not. But we’re civil enough. He conducts his business without our interference and the same goes for us.”
“So, then, you’re not telling him where our warehouses are? Or any prime locations—”
“Enough,” he growls at me. “Who do you think you are talking to? You might be the brightest star in this Bratva, but I am still your father and your Pakhan.”
I’m struck silent. He’s pulled on my chain and now I know I’d better be silent if I want to leave here with my head.
“I’m going to say this one time,” he goes on.
“This alliance with the Irkutsk is strong. There is nothing nefarious going on with this arrangement, Alex. Now, I don’t know where this is coming from, but as of this moment, the Irkutsks and the Rostovs are at peace.
Stop chasing windmills and go home and sleep with your wife. ”
With that, he turns back to his chair and sits back down. “Now,” he says as he puts his reading glasses back on, “if there is nothing else, I’d like to be left alone to read.”
And just like that, the door has been shut on me. Even if I wanted to protest, I’d be doing so at my peril. So I turn around and I walk out.
But this isn’t over.