CHAPTER SIX

 

 

Demetrius

“When we go in,” I said, “we know that we’ve got several problems. One of them is that there’s an elevator which most likely takes people down to wherever the girls are being kept, and it’s only operable with a retinal scan. Another problem is dividing and conquering. Some of us are going to need to be busy doing the job we’re getting paid for, which is taking out Nikolai Mikailhov, and others of us will be focused on getting Natasha out. I am not entirely sure where that line is.”

We were all gathered in my hotel room, the other four perched on the couches. I was standing in front of the TV. Kiera had made me a little presentation that I could put on the screen, so that I c1oould show them things on the building schematics she’d gotten for me, and other helpful things of that nature.

I pointed at the TV. “So, right now, we are not exactly sure that this area is where the girls are being kept, but we think it’s most likely.”

“We’re just going in there with the ‘most likely’ thing?” said Blaze. “You kidding me?”

“Don’t interrupt him,” said Kiera. “He’s explaining stuff.”

“Oh, I guess he already told you, then,” said Blaze. “You two work this out as pillow talk?”

“Shut up, Blaze,” I said darkly.

“Pillow talk?” said Kiera.

Cass leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “Ooh, is there something going on between Kiera and Demetrius? I thought that Kiera had sworn off men.”

I cringed. “Can we not call me by my given name, please? It’s Danger, all right?”

“Danger?” said Ambrose. “You’re right, it does sound like he’s trying to be a superhero,” he said to Kiera.

I looked at Kiera. “You’ve sworn off men?”

Kiera was looking at Cass. “There is nothing going on.” She turned to look at Blaze. “Why would you even say that?”

“All men?” I said.

Kiera turned to me.

“Because,” I said, “that’s probably a good idea. I mean, you’d be much safer if—”

“Can we get back to the plan?” said Blaze. “Or did you even make one? We’ll just go in through the ‘most likely’ entrance, and then wander around until we ‘most likely’ find him, and we’ll ‘most likely’ have bullets in our—”

“That’s enough.” I shot him an annoyed glance.

He closed his mouth, but he gave me a defiant expression.

“We’re not going to go in until we know where the girls are being kept,” I said. “We have to find that out for certain.”

“So, how do we do that?” said Ambrose. “Go in and look for them?”

“We can’t,” said Kiera. “The retinal scan.”

“We find someone that can open it,” said Blaze. “And we put a gun to his head, and then we have him open it—”

“Oh, sure,” I said. “And then he runs off and tells everyone that we’re casing the joint. No way.”

“We kill him after we’re done with him,” said Blaze.

“And drag his dead body with us everywhere?” I said. “Dead guy is more conspicuous than having him tell tales.”

“Besides,” said Kiera, “that’s against the code.”

Blaze and I exchanged a glance.

“I only help out on jobs that follow Ripper’s code,” said Kiera. “You guys know that. If a guy wants to kill innocent people, then I’m not on board.”

I cleared my throat. “Anyway, I have a plan to get this moving, if I could just get a word in edgewise.”

“I’m glad you do,” said Blaze. “After all, that is what you’re supposed to be doing. You’re the brains of this operation.”

“You shut up,” I said to him. “Do you have some issue with me?”

“I just…” He sighed heavily. “Sorry. I’m used to working alone. I’m not great with taking orders, all right?”

I nodded. “I get that. I do. And I actually want your opinion on some things. I think if you could get into Nikolai’s office, get a look around at that building, then you can tell me whether it’s doable to take the whole thing down.” I turned back to everyone. “There are two buildings here, everyone.”

I hit a button on the gadget that Kiera had given me, and the image on the TV changed to a picture of the tall skyscraper that housed the business fronts for the Mikailhov family. Behind the tall building was a much smaller one, only two stories.

I continued to speak. “This smaller building is Nikolai’s private space. He has an office here. He also entertains here. He spends a large amount of time here.”

“You want me to get into that office?” said Blaze.

“Not exactly,” I said. “But I do want you in there.”

“I don’t understand,” he said.

“I don’t want you to be the person who gets us in,” I said. “And we only need to be in there in order to place some bugs. Kiera, I assume the surveillance equipment won’t be a problem.”

“Oh, I’ve got stuff that’ll allow us to listen in on anyone,” she said.

“Good,” I said. “We need to hear everything that goes on in that office, especially conversations with a man named Erik Popov. He’s the overseer for the sex-slave operation. If anyone knows where the girls are in that building, it’s him. So, we’re going to listen in. He’s going to give us that information. Then Blaze, we’ll know for sure. So, no, we’re not going with the most likely scenario.”

“Oh, thank goodness you’re not completely incompetent,” he muttered sarcastically.

I glared at him for a minute. I really wished I knew someone else good with explosives. But I didn’t. I squared my shoulders and addressed everyone. “So, it’ll be a dual mission. First objective is for us to place the microphones. Second objective is for Blaze to look around inside. We’ll need everyone on board for this.” I turned to Ambrose. “You and I will run interference, make sure everything gets done.”

“I’m up for anything,” said Ambrose. He smirked. “Danger.”

I rolled my eyes. “And Kiera, you’re going to oversee what’s going on with Cass and Blaze.”

“What is going on with us?” said Cass.

I hit a button on the gadget again. Now, the image on the screen shifted again, and it showed the building right next to Nikolai’s office building. I pointed to a set of windows a story above. “These offices are for rent. I have rented them. Cass, you can use your acrobatic skills to get from that window into Nikolai’s office, right?”

* * *

 

Kiera

I looked down into the window of Nikolai’s office. “Okay, he’s gone,” I told Blaze. “That means you guys need to move fast.”

He made a face. “I don’t see why I have to be sliding down ropes.”

“We’ve been over this,” I said. “Danger told you that he needs you in that office to get a lay of the land. There’s crazy security in there. This is the best way to get you in.”

He shrugged.

“Besides,” said Cass from behind him, “you’re not sliding down the rope. You’re going to be attached to me. I’ll do all the work.”

He looked her up and down. “And I still say that there’s no way this will work. You’re what? A buck ten soaking wet?”

She laughed. “Oh, do I really look that small? How nice of you. Trust me, I weigh a bit more than that. And I’m strong.” Her hair was in a tight bun at the nape of her neck, and she was wearing form fitting black workout clothes.

Blaze was similarly dressed. “You better be, lady, because if you drop me—”

“I won’t,” said Cass.

“Remember,” I said, “you want to place this on his desk.” I held up a pen. It had ink, and it worked and everything, but it also had a hidden microphone. “If he’s got an pen holder, just stick it in there. And then the phone. Get the tap on the phone.”

“You’re going to be walking me through this, right?” said Cass, smiling at me. She tapped her ear.

I nodded. “Yeah, I will.” We were all wired up together with tiny earpieces. I had only used them in the field a few times. Once, I’d had to walk one of the guys from the organization through a pretty tricky route into a heavily secure building. It had involved use of air conditioning ducts and everything. Anyway, I wasn’t really comfortable with them yet, but I was sure I could make them work. “Do you have everything?”

“I’ve got everything.” She smiled at me again.

“Okay,” I said. “Okay.”

She yanked a harness over her head and worked on securing it to her torso. “Get yours on, Blaze.”

Blaze pulled his harness over his head too. “You sure about this? What if you drop me?”

“I’m not going to drop you.” She laughed again. “What’s your real name, anyway? I know you can’t really be called Blaze.”

“I’m not telling you that,” he said.

She shrugged. She stepped closer to him and began hooking their harnesses together. “All right, then. Let’s go.”

I watched as they climbed out the window.

The rope they were attached to was secured inside the room where we were set up here. It was a typical set of offices, bare of everything except light fixtures and carpets. The rope was secured to one of the studs in the wall. Strong as anything could be, or so Cass said.

“Ready?” said Cass to Blaze as they stood on the windowsill.

He looked down, gulping. “I don’t know about—”

But he never finished, because Cass leaped off the building.

Blaze shrieked. I heard it in my earpiece, and I switched it off.

They were in free fall for one minute, but then the rope caught, and they were swinging by their harnesses between the buildings.

Cass’s body arched as she swung them towards Nikolai’s office.

She reached out and caught the window there.

Blaze dangled beneath her. From the looks of it, he was still yelling.

I watched as she climbed inside and hauled him in after her.

Then I switched my earpiece back on. “Good job, Cass.”

“Thanks,” she said. “That was awesome.”

“I think I’m going to vomit,” said Blaze.

* * *

 

Demetrius

Nikolai Mikailhov was a tall, pudgy man with a big nose that he rubbed often. I wasn’t sure if that was why it was always red, or if it was just his natural skin tone. He wore several gold rings on each one of his fat fingers. He smelled like sweat and vodka. “What can I do for you, officers?” he said to us, a too-large smile on his face.

Ambrose and I were posing as crooked police. It was one of the few things that I could think of that would be important enough to get Nikolai out of his office and hold his attention for a long time.

Ambrose could have handled it alone, but I was there in case things went south. I had a hat on, the brim pulled down over my face. I didn’t think that Nikolai would recognize me, but I couldn’t be sure. I had worked with my family in the past, back when the Gallos and Mikailhovs were having skirmishes over territory. I hadn’t been close to him, but it was best to keep a low profile.

Ambrose smiled widely, offering his hand. “I just want to say that it’s good to meet you, sir. Your reputation precedes you, and I have to say that I have always wanted to see you in the flesh.” He had adopted a bit of a drawl, the kind of good-old-boy Virginian accent you sometimes still heard around these parts.

Nikolai shook hands with him but narrowed his eyes. His face was bloated, and it made him look vaguely like a pig. Maybe it was his big, pink nose. “I do not know what you mean. I have no reputation, I assure you.” His own accent was thick and heavy, his English a bit broken.

“I don’t mean a bad reputation, son.” Ambrose clapped him on the shoulder.

Nikolai recoiled.

Ambrose pretended to ignore his reaction. “You’ve got a reputation for being generous.”

Nikolai raised his eyebrows. “Do I?”

“Oh, yeah,” said Ambrose. “Now, I can be generous too, son. I want you to know that I’m not the kind of cop who’s just out to get people. I want to be fair. I want to give people a chance. You gotta believe that.”

Nikolai tapped his fingers against his teeth. “I do not mean to be rude, officers, but I am a busy man. Is there a reason that you are here today?”

“Sure is.” Ambrose grinned widely. “Basically, we’re here about a big shipment of meth that we confiscated. We got three men telling us it belongs to you, and if I put that in a report, then the higher ups are going to want to use it to try for an arrest. You gotta know that the sheriff’s got a hard-on for bringing you in, right?”

Nikolai stopped smiling. “These men with the meth are lying. I am business man. Respectable business man.”

“To be sure you are,” said Ambrose. “And a generous one too, or so I hear.”

“What do you want?” Nikolai’s whole face was getting red.

“I don’t want anything,” said Ambrose. “I’m just here because I’m a generous man. Before I put any of this in a report, I thought I’d come by here and allow you to be the generous man that you’re rumored to be.”

“You want bribe.”

“I never said a thing like that.” Ambrose grinned. “Besides, a bribe would be something you offered, I think. No, this would be more like… blackmail.” He smiled.

Nikolai smiled too, but thinly. “I could have you both shot right now. I have guards there.” He pointed through the windows to the other building. “And there.”

“No need for anything like that,” said Ambrose. “All I’m proposing is that you give us a little cash, and then we get out of your hair, and the next time I hear anyone saying that a meth shipment belongs to you, I turn a deaf ear to that.”

“I already have deal with other police,” said Nikolai.

“That’s how I knew you were generous.”

Nikolai shook his head. “No. I will not give cash to you.”

“You sure about that, son? You sure you want to risk—”

“What about a trade?” said Nikolai. “I do not have a lot of cash, but I do have women. I have beautiful women, women who will be eager to please you. I can promise you will be always satisfied for free. It is better than cash, you see?”

“Where are these women?” I spoke up. “Are they in the building next door?”

Nikolai looked me over. “You. You have been very quiet until now.”

Shit. Why did I say anything? Did he recognize me?