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"Pete. Please tell me you have something. I'm freaking out."
"Never thought I'd see the day that something had you freaked," Pete said, looking over his shoulder. We were standing in the stairwell of St. Vincent's Hospital. I didn't like meeting here either, but Reggie was undergoing his fifth hour of surgery, and I had nothing. I was going out of my mind with worry. There was nothing at all that I could find about who took Alex.
Charlie told us he had a Russian accent, but I had no idea why the Russians would want her. Or which Russians it was, for that matter. I called every single contact I had, and as the hours ticked by, the more that pit in my stomach began to deepen. Guilt coursed through me that I hadn’t protected her, when I told her over and over again that I would. I feared what could be happening to her. After what Charlie had been through and what Alex had already told us she'd been through, I didn't know how much more she could take, and I was losing my fucking mind.
"Pete," I barked, losing patience.
"Right. Sorry, it took me a while, but I had to get into the chief's office when no one was looking. They have this marked as Bratva. It's the Russian mob, man. You sure this girl is worth this? These are some serious..."
I cut him off, "I know how serious this is."
"Right. Well, here's the thing. They had a picture, and it looked like they were doing surveillance of Hades and this guy. I don't know who he is, but I took a picture on my phone. Where do you want me to send it? I need to get this off my phone right away."
“Give me your phone.” He handed it over, and I quickly sent it to an email I used that couldn't be traced, and deleted any history that it was done from his phone.
I handed him a wad of cash, not even caring how much it was; whatever was in my wallet, I gave him. His eyes momentarily widened, and I figured he'd made out.
"Thanks, man. I got to hang low, but if I hear something else, I'll let you know."
I lifted my chin to Pete and went back to the waiting area of the hospital. Charlie held a sleeping Gun while Gunner paced, and Shane stared out the window, looking lost in thought. The rest of my brothers were here as well. Every one of them. Some of their old ladies were here too, and a few women were passing out coffee around the room.
I sat down and pulled out my laptop. Gunner sat down next to me. "You got anything."
I kept my voice low, even though I knew most of the men in the room would be trying to overhear what was happening, but the wives were here, and I didn't want to freak them out more than I was sure they already were. "Bratva was meeting with Hades. I don't know much else, but I do know that motherfucker was involved in this. I got a picture. Running it now."
"I'm going to kill him once and for all," Gunner hissed.
I stared at the man I'd never seen before, and I wanted to rage. Ten seconds more and my facial recognition software would tell us who he was.
Ten seconds seemed to go on forever, and with each passing second, the fear only intensified. Shane joined us and watched over my shoulder as the image on the screen changed, and the information came through. Antonio Sokolov. Former KGB. Suspected as a boss to the Bratva, information unconfirmed. Location last known, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Gunner, Shane, and I locked eyes. I'd be headed to St. Petersburg.
The entire room froze, and I looked up from my screen as the surgeon walked in.
"Is the family here for Reginald DuPree?"
Shane spoke up. "We're his family."
"I need immediate family only."
"We're as immediate as you're going to get, and each and every one of us is his family. You got a problem with that," I watched Shane grab the doctor's name badge in order to intimidate the man. "Doctor Schwartzki?"
He looked taken aback for a moment. "No, Sir," he said. "He's out of surgery. We were able to remove the bullet from his head. How he made it through without flatlining is a miracle. There was extensive damage to the occipital part of the brain. We have him in a medically induced coma while we hope for the swelling on his brain to reduce. When he wakes, he may lose vision in one, or possibly both eyes. We won't know for sure until he wakes, which may be several days."
"So, he's going to be okay?" Charlie asked in a quiet voice, not wanting to wake up Gun. She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
"Unfortunately, the only way we will know is with time. He's strong. I honestly can't believe he's made it this far."
"Thanks, Doc." Shane shook the surgeon's hand and turned to the room as the doctor left. "Sorry, ladies. I need a meet with the brothers in the stairwell, now."
A few wives looked ticked. A few softly cried. I wished I could do something to make this situation better than it was, but I couldn't. It was fucked. I followed Shane and Gunner out of the room, and I nodded to the cop in the hall that was assigned to us when Reggie came in with a gunshot. He was a beat cop, but he was also a club hang-around. It wasn't known that he was one of us, but with him outside, we could be sure that this stayed within the MC.
The men in the stairwell took up nearly two floors. We had men stationed at the doors so no one could enter. Once inside, Shane began, "You all know Hades Runners have been at war with us for a long time. We got confirmation that the people who shot Reggie were working with them. We also know who took Alex. It was a Bratva boss by the name of Antonio Sokolov."
I cut in, "I'm going to confirm it, but it looks like he's possibly taken her to St. Petersburg."
"Florida?" Donnie asked.
"No, dipshit. Russia," Gunner said, then added. "I want Hades."
"I know you do, brother, but we need to get your sister back first. She takes priority," Shane said.
"I'm going," I told the room with no uncertainty.
"And so are we. Like we did to get Charlie," Shane ordered, telling everyone that it would be Shane, Gunner, and myself. "I need around the clock men at the hospital in shifts, and I want eyes on Hades at all times. If anything happens to Reggie, you contact us. If anything seems amiss with Hades, I want to know. I want to know where he's going if he leaves his clubhouse, and I want to know what kind of game he's playing. Something isn't sitting right with me. He gets intel to rescue Alex and then tells her she has to spy on her brother, and at the same time, is meeting with the Russians who now have taken Alex... It just doesn't make sense."
"I agree," Gunner said. "He's working some angle. I think we should go in heavy and strong, and beat it out of him until we find out exactly what."
"Know you all want vengeance for Reggie, but that's not the way. Feds have already been here with eyes on the Russians. And Hades is on their radar. We go in strong—we risk everything. No, we need to learn all we can, not go in blindly."
I had to agree with Shane, "I'm with you, brother," I told him.
Gunner gritted his teeth, "Who else has an opinion?"
The men began to talk out the pros and cons, and I was listening to each side but becoming increasingly irritated because time might not be on Alex's side
My phone rang, and even though we were in a meeting, I had to look at it. What if it had something to do with Alex?
"Talk," I answered.
"I must be quick, but I have information. It's going to cost you." It was one of my Colombian contacts.
"How much?"
"Ten."
"Done."
"Sending you wiring info now."
I waited for a second for the ding to come in. "Got it."
"Mr. Santos was found murdered this morning. Don't know who it was, but there are rumors it was the Russians. They said it looked like he'd been dead for a couple of days."
I gritted my teeth, "Sending now." I hung up the phone, and the room came to a pause, all waiting to hear what it was I had to say. "Juan Santos was murdered, and they think it's the Russians. It appears he's been dead a few days too."
"Fuck," Gunner said.
"How quick can you get us to Russia?"
"Let me do what I do."
It was as if that new information made it clear that was where we needed to be. Shane gave orders on who was to be where and when while I pulled up every bit of information I could on my computer. I had a few contacts that I knew had been heavily involved in Russian ops, and I immediately reached out to them. It didn't take long for me to put our plans into action, and when I was finally done, I closed my laptop and noticed it was just the three of us left in the hallway.
"We leave in three hours. Taking a boat from Cleveland to Canada and flying out of there. Dress warm."
"Weapons?" Gunner asked.
"We'll get them in Russia. Meet off Euclid Beach."
"Got it. I got something I have to take care of first, so I'll see you there." I looked at Shane for a second, and it dawned on me that maybe he was seeing someone, and I didn't know anything about it. He'd let us know if she was worth knowing.
I nodded to him, and we all went our separate ways promising to reconnect in a few hours.