Luka
In hindsight, killing Alexei wasn’t the correct solution to the problem he created. Sure, what he did was reprehensible and would’ve drawn more attention to us than necessary, but he was a crucial part of our operations. He was the only person I could count on to know what he was doing when it came to trafficking drugs and weapons throughout the country. He was the only man that had never fucked it up once, and then he needed to go get wrapped up in some silly high schooler and try to assault a woman for $500.
$500. That was all it took for a man to get his head blown off.
I’ve decided to call a meeting today. We need to vote on a new leader for the drug division or bring someone fresh into the scene to manage things. This little hiccup will cost us more than just $500 and Alexei’s life.
Bringing a new person into such a risky business is always nerve-racking, even for someone who’s been doing it since they were twelve like I have. There are no background checks you can do for the underground business, and since my Family has been growing steadily and taking over more territories, there are always rival gangs who might try to infiltrate my operation by posing as a new member.
I have to be on my toes.
When I arrive to the meeting place near the docks, I can see that my second in command, Pavel, has already arrived. Fortunately for me, he’s the only one with an opinion that I really care to hear. Everybody else is just there to be informed or offer potential counterpoints if there’s a glaring oversight, which there never is.
I open the door to the abandoned warehouse and am immediately greeted by Pavel. “Luka, I heard about last night. What the fuck happened?” he asks, completely bewildered as he walks up to me with open arms.
I shake my head. “Alexei ran up a tab with some teenage girl. She was getting product off him and wasn’t paying at the point of sale. His solution was to kidnap her ass and try to extort the money from her twenty- something-year-old sister. Obviously, they both shit their pants, and I couldn’t have somebody on a power trip while they’re running my business, so I shot him,” I reply, trying to keep as neutral of a tone as possible.
“Jesus,” he replies, staring at me with an expression that could be confused with deranged glee or disbelief.
“You hated that guy anyway,” I reply, trying to deflect the blame from myself as if there were any truly blameless individuals involved.
“Well, yeah, but you fuckin’ killed him,” he replies, laughing. He’s clearly unbothered by the loss of Alexei. Hopefully, that means he has a viable replacement.
We wait for about fifteen minutes before the rest of the group begins to filter in. Most of them still carry themselves like dogs who were caught eating their own vomit, knowing full well that I saw every one of them at the scene last night. Had even one of them chosen to take responsibility and apprehend Alexei themselves, we wouldn’t even be here right now.
But here we are anyway.
My men know I’m a killer. They know I hold little value in human life, and that value is earned, not intrinsic to the position of being a breathing, eating, shitting hell beast of a hominid. If I wanted any of them dead currently, they would be. However, now they’ve seen firsthand what a lapse in judgment will do to them under my watch, and I hope they’ve learned something from it.
“Okay, everyone, first off, I want to address what happened last night,” I say, scanning the sea of nervous faces as I light up a cigar. “Alexei fucked up big time, and that’s not something we do here, you understand?”
A few of the men nod, but most sit in petrified silence.
“But I don’t want you guys to think I’m going on a killing spree over that little incident. Nobody here is getting what Alexei got because none of you did what he did,” I explain.
“Do you mean selling to a kid or trying to get the other girl to fuck him for repayment?” Vasya asks.
I groan. “What the fuck do you think, Vasya? All of it. I don’t want any of you pulling any of that shit, ever.”
Vasya sits back, his expression still cautious.
“Does anybody else need this shit explained to them?” I ask, scanning the room for that same apprehension I saw when everybody walked in.
Unanimous head shakes.
“Okay, now we need to replace Alexei,” I say, tapping the ash of the end of my cigar. “As much as I wish I could throw one of you into his position, that just isn’t something I can do, and we all know it. So, what we’re going to do is go over our options.”
“What about your brother?” Pavel asks.
I scoff, but Pavel is the only one brave enough in this room to speak up at all, so I can’t be too mad at him.
“Not Leo,” I reply quickly, taking an angry puff of smoke.
My brother Leo and I were recruited into the Bratva when we were eleven and fourteen, scraping by in the streets of St. Petersburg. Orphaned and sustaining significant abuse in our orphanage left us no choice but to join an organized crime syndicate that would allow us protection while offering us a way to make quick, substantial money.
It was difficult, but we managed, and eventually, we became well-known in the shadier parts of the city for how well we conducted business for a couple of teenagers.
Eventually, Leo was offered a position doing drug inventory for a rival gang, and he was tempted to take it and betray me and the rest of our brotherhood. He didn’t take it, but I know he considered it. I never felt him to be greedy or underhanded before then, but after that, I couldn’t trust him.
Now, he might be my only choice.
But I’m not ready to face that yet.
“I don’t even know where the hell Leo is right now,” I reply, dismissing the idea before Pavel can ask for clarification.
“You might want to find him. He’s the only other person who knows how to run shit exactly like you,” Pavel replies, and while he’s correct, I reject his idea in it’s entirety.
“No, Pavel. I’m not going to bring my fucking brother into my organization. He’s a snake and a greedy bastard. As soon as anybody offered him something more enticing, he would disappear with our stock. So fucking drop it,” I growl.
Pavel raises his hands in surrender.
“If it comes down to it, I might just have to train one of you. It’ll be brutal as fuck, and you’ll hate me by the end of it, but I’ll ensure that it’s worth it for whoever I go ahead with. Until I decide, keep a low profile. We have too many loose ends right now,” I continue, making eye contact with every one of them individually to add weight to my words.
Before I’m able to continue, my phone starts to ring. I quickly hang up and re-gather my thoughts, but another call comes through immediately. I hang up, and within seconds, another call comes.
“This had better be important,” I grumble, exiting the room to take the call.
As soon as I answer, I don’t even get one word in before I’m being pelted with insults. “What the fuck did you do to my car, you piece of shit?! My sister is innocent! She had no idea what she was doing getting involved with you! Let it go, or I’ll involve the fucking cops! What are you going to do then, huh?!”
I pull the phone away from my ear, confused for a moment before I realize who it is. But what’s this about her car?
“Listen, I have no idea what you’re calling about. What happened?” I ask, hoping that showing even a moderate amount of concern would calm her.
“Do you think it’s fucking funny to pick on poor people? Do you know how much it’s going to cost me to get new tires and have a window fixed?!” she continues to scream, not holding back her fury at all.
If we met in person, she wouldn’t take such an attitude with me without punishment.
“You need to tell me what happened so I can figure out if I need to break someone’s neck,” I insist, keeping my voice calm. “I can assure you that I had nothing to do with this, and if one of my affiliates has done something to you, there will be absolute hell to pay.”
I hear her breathing for a moment, and then she clears her throat. “Someone slashed my tires and threw a brick through our window this morning. I’m glad I was home because my sister would’ve been fucking terrified,” she explains, still angry but with a less urgent tone.
“Have you gotten on anyone’s bad side lately?” I ask. “Um, yours, to begin with.”
I chuckle. “Sweetie, I’m not looking to get vengeance over a couple of hundred dollars. You saw what I did to Alexei for harassing you.”
“Yeah, but you had others with you, and they were all in on it,” she snaps.
“Well, if you want, I can come down there and check it out,” I offer. “Have you called the police about it?”
“I did, but they didn’t give a shit. They didn’t want to come all the way out here for a ‘victimless crime’, they called it,” she says, growing angry again. “And why would I tell you where I live?”
“Because if you have become a target for someone, you’ll have to move anyway,” I say.
She sighs heavily. “Fine, but don’t bring anyone else. I barely trust you in the first place,” she replies.
“Okay, just text me the address, and I’ll check it out.” I glance into the meeting room from the hallway, and I see that the guys are getting anxious that I’ve been gone so long. I barely have anything left to say to them, so I might as well head out now.
Let them rot in that room for the rest of the day, waiting for me. It’s the next best thing to busting heads for how they stood around and let Alexei act up.
My phone buzzes with a message. It’s the woman’s address.
My steps are heavy as I walk away from the meeting room, but I’m unable to get to the exit before a voice chirps from behind me. “Hey, where are you going?”
I spin around to face my associate Pavel. “Call my brother,” I reply, ignoring his question. “Have him flown in, but don’t tell him anything yet. I’ll let him in on what we’re doing when I’m ready.”
Pavel frowns. “I thought you said that”
“I don’t pay you to think,” I snap. “Leave the decision-making to me and follow my command.”
He stiffens and nods. “Yes, sir.”