Ivan Barbolin stood at the edge of his rooftop patio looking over Los Angeles and nursing his drink.
His Los Angeles home, one of several he held across the globe through various shell companies, was located high up on Tower Road in Beverly Hills, and as such, the five-thousand-square-foot dwelling had one of the most amazing views of Los Angeles.
On a clear night, the Barbarian could see everything from Dodger Stadium to the angular building cluster of downtown Santa Monica, parts of the Pacific Palisades with the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop, reaching from Long Beach to Malibu. At twilight, when all was quiet, it was one of the most beautiful views in all of Southern California.
Less than twenty-four hours after his meeting with Coalition Properties CEO Glen Turner, the Barbarian had boarded his private jet and headed back to Russia. Then, in an attempt to hide his whereabouts from the Coalition leader, he boarded another jet at a scheduled layover in Paris, one that he did not own but instead chartered under one of his many business aliases, and headed straight back to Los Angeles. It was a circular path filled with extraneous flight time, but it had likely thrown the Coalition of his trail, at least temporarily.
After his conversation with Turner, Barbolin knew trouble was on the horizon. The big Russian’s years of experience led him to believe that Turner’s agreements were not only empty but dangerous.
The U.S. corptocracy was notorious for going back on its word and eliminating their business allies once they were no longer deemed useful, often via violent means. From Manuel Noriega to Saddam Hussein, U.S. corporate interests had never failed to turn on their partners, those who were more at ease handling the darker elements of global business than their American counterparts, and the Barbarian knew that, over time, he would be treated no different.
The Russian knew that the only way he would survive would be to outmaneuver the Coalition leader and engineer the American’s demise before the American CEO turned on him.
And the only way to do that was to find Alex Luthecker first.
The Barbarian had seen firsthand how the young soothsayer had taken down Lucas Parks, one of the most formidable Americans Barbolin had ever known. In the Barbarian’s mind, Parks was as cunning as he was brutal, and this mysterious young man had destroyed Park’s enterprise, while ensuring the demise of Turner’s Coalition predecessor. The Barbarian had been deeply impressed by Luthecker’s ability to destroy his enemies.
The big Russian also understood danger when he saw it, and with what he saw of Luthecker, he knew change and the chaos it created was coming. He knew if he didn’t get in front of the situation, it wouldn’t be long before he ended up in the crosshairs himself, somehow triangulated upon by both Luthecker and Glen Turner.
To the Barbarian, the past was—more often than not—prologue, and this was how it had been with Luthecker in the past; first, in how Luthecker took down Coalition leader Richard Brown, then Coalition CEO James Howe, along with the Barbarian’s partner, Lucas Parks. The Barbarian understood Russian history, and he wasn’t blind to the momentum behind a revolution.
Luthecker’s influence was growing, reaching as far as the India and Pakistan border, and it appeared unstoppable. The Barbarian didn’t need to connect more dots to see a pattern emerging. The Coalition intended to eliminate their partners and absorb their assets to achieve a new world order—with the Coalition as its one ruler.
And Alex Luthecker, who had no assets to speak of, threatened to put an end to the Coalition’s plan. It was a conflict that the Barbarian knew he could easily get swept up in, just like Parks did, should the Russian get caught in the crosshairs.
But it was in this pattern between Luthecker and the Coalition that the Barbarian saw an opportunity for survival. He wanted to make it clear to Luthecker that he had no intention of getting in the young man’s way.
Luthecker had taken down the Coalition’s last two leaders, and the Barbarian would be more than happy to help Luthecker take down their successor. The Barbarian understood that helping Luthecker was a way to ensure his own survival. In the Russian’s experience, everyone wanted something. Surely, Luthecker was no different. Surely, the young man could be bargained with.
And the wealthy and influential Russian had much to offer. All the Barbarian required was an opportunity to make the offer. But in order to do that, he had to find the mysterious soothsayer before his Coalition adversary.
This was why Ivan had flown back to Los Angeles immediately and enlisted the local resources he had at his disposal to find Luthecker well ahead of his Coalition rival. And it was the Russian’s years of experience as a dealmaker and a survivor that led him to believe he could strike an arrangement with the young man.
The Barbarian would agree to help Luthecker take down the mighty Coalition, in exchange for what the Russian considered some fair business practices. The Barbarian knew that there would be more to give up in order to gain the soothsayer’s cooperation. He knew, at least in part, what Luthecker’s motivations were—freeing members of the slave class. The Russian would make it clear to Luthecker that he was willing to give up the slave trade in exchange for the soothsayer’s help.
Human trafficking was an enormous part of the Barbarian’s business, and the oligarch hoped that releasing this would be enough to appease Luthecker in exchange for help in eliminating a mutual enemy.
In a truth he could barely admit, even to himself, Ivan Barbolin was tired of it all. He was ready to retire, peacefully, and if his countless rivals knew that the Barbarian had a hand in taking down the mighty Coalition, the old Russian oligarch would leave the business and political world on top and step off the world stage as a legend—feared among his enemies. Therefore, he’d be relatively safe when he walked away. But none of this would happen if he didn’t find Alex Luthecker first.
The Barbarian took one last look over the City of Angels as the sun slipped below the horizon. Then he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and hit the first number on his speed dial. He wanted an update on the search from his most trusted friend and soldier, Ostap Kosylo.
Kosylo picked up on the first ring.
“Have you found him?” Barbolin asked.
“No. But I have found the next best thing,” Kosylo said. His limited English and thick Russian accent made his choice of words blunt.
“What is the next best thing?”
“The Coalition dog who follows the scent. Kirby is his name. He leaves the Coalition as we speak. He has no clue that we watch. I will let him lead the hunt. He will lead me straight to the target. And when this Kirby has found Luthecker, I will intervene.”
“Good,” Barbolin answered. “Keep me apprised of all progress,” he added, before he hung up.
Barbolin took a deep breath and thought about the other possibility. The one where Luthecker would not work with him, and the Coalition marked the Barbarian for elimination. Ivan Barbolin had already decided that he would not go quietly.
He stared at his phone. There was one more call still to make, one that he had mulled over for many hours, unsure if he should actually make it. It was a worst-case scenario phone call, a scorched earth back up plan only to be put into play if all was deemed lost, and the Coalition became completely unopposed on the world stage.
The call was strictly an insurance policy, one that would cost him a great deal of money, eleven billion dollars to be exact, but one the Barbarian had calculated as necessary. This particular deal would serve as the ultimate deterrent to the Coalition, should the worst-case situation arise. It would also ensure his safety in the homeland by providing a large cash payment to an ally in power.
The Barbarian looked at his phone. At least I’m dealing with an old friend on this deal, he thought, a friend who understands the nature of military brinksmanship. The Barbarian hit the speed dial.
The Russian President picked up the call after the first ring.