Anatoly Medlov (25 page)

Anatoly shook his head. He thought he
was
being honest. “Fine.”

“Well, hurry,” she said, swallowing hard. “It’s my birthday in two days, you know.”

He bit his lip.
Dammit
, he’d nearly forgotten. “I didn’t forget. That is why I’m rushing.”

She smiled. He was lying, but she knew he’d make up for it with some ostentatious gift from some exotic place that she’d never visited.

“Okay, well, see you then,” she said, ending the conversation. She always hated to be the one that listened to the dial tone. Something about hearing him hang up always tore her up inside.

“
Do svidaniya
,” Anatoly answered, waiting for her phone to click. Setting the phone down beside him, he waited for the pressure to lift off his chest, but nothing happened. He still felt the same stress, and it was apparent why. He hadn’t told her the truth yet.

Chapter Nineteen

The real meeting was finally underway. Mid-afternoon over lunch, the men sat in Dmitry’s private study behind locked doors with three bodyguards to discuss what Gabriel’s official role in the family would be.

Dmitry sat behind his desk. Anatoly sat in a leather wing-backed chair by the fireplace, and Gabriel sat across from his uncle. Vasily stood in the corner with another one of Dmitry’s bodyguards while Davyd sat in the corner, in the darkness watching them all with a careful eye and a loaded gun.

Gabriel had never seen such protection. This place was locked up better than Fort Knox. And inside, two men – both related - with more wealth than many small countries sat discussing the future of a family structure with enough power to last the ages over chicken salad, croissants and southern iced tea. It was an interesting site to behold.

“I don’t see how he can be of any real use to us, papa. He’s a drug dealer and an identity thief. Name the last time that we needed either,” Anatoly said disgusted.

“I’m a drug
trafficker
,” Gabriel corrected. “And you’d be surprised how I could be useful regarding changing your identity or getting you clearance into a particular place.” He looked at Dmitry for support. “Whether it’s for personal or business reasons, document and identities are always needed.”

“He’s right,” Dmitry said to Anatoly. “Didn’t you just get rid of Igor?” An idea hit him. He could use the boy there.

Gabriel’s ears rose. He’d heard of Igor Zchensky during his many briefas an on the Medlov Organized Crime family. And recently, his contact, Agent Lee, had informed him that the well-known Vor had a heart attack in Miami.

Supposedly, Igor was a major gun trafficker for Anatoly with freight ships and truck lines in five countries.

Anatoly nodded. “
Da da
, papa, but -” he raised his hands towards Gabriel. “
YA yemu ne doveryayu
.”

Gabriel sighed. “But you can
trust me,
Anatoly. What other reason would I be here other than to try to connect our families and be of some use?” He sat up in the seat. “I’m a trafficker. It doesn’t really matter if it’s guns or drugs.”

“We don’t traffic drugs,” Anatoly corrected. “We’re not low level pushers.”

“And we do not traffic people,” Dmitry added for extra measure. “It’s been the one thing that has always separated us from
them
since our beginning. We only deal in guns. Everything else is legit. All the businesses thrive on one another, and at the core is the true industry run by the brotherhood.”

Gabriel listened to the lesson carefully. “So, you’ve never dealt in drugs? But my father...”

“Your father was a Vor. He was a business man, but he was not a part of the Medlov family for many years,” Dmitry said, cutting Gabriel off. “We never approved of his extracurricular activities. In fact, it is what separated us in the beginning. But I am aware that he was heavily involved in drugs. Ivan always went against the grain. It proved more often than not to be a problem for him.”

“So you never?” Gabriel frowned. His perception of the organization had been flawed from the beginning.

“Never,” Dmitry said, clasping his hands together. He picked up the crystal tumbler and sipped his vodka. “You sound disappointed. The strength of our organization comes from our code and our own set of morals. We have helped a hundred small factions, fueled the underdog in a hundred wars. If anything, we are guilty of capitalism at its finest. We are doing the same things that governments have done for centuries. But we have never been involved in the trafficking of drugs or people, regardless of what the common misconception is about us. It counters the very core of what we stand for as men of the Vory v Zakone.”

“But so many of us
do
deal in drugs and human trafficking. That is what our organization is most known for around the world. How can you sit here and say that The Medlov Crime Family has become as great as it has only through guns?” Gabriel countered. “You have to admit that it sound farfetched”

“That is what distinguishes us. There are so many of us that do not deal in rape of the poor and misfortunate. Many of us are brothers of the time before the great USSR was no more. Besides, there are entire industries that we control, entire governments that we have infiltratedere is no need to seek profit in things that are so disorganized and corrupt. Women, children, drugs. These things are all off our radar for a reason.” Dmitry looked Gabriel in the eyes. “There used to be a time, before you were old enough to walk, before you were born, when men were held down because they were not a part of the government. We were starving in hovels, down trodden by a system designed to monopolize on institutionalized and wide-spread fear while our government profited off the sweat of our brows. The men of the Vory reversed that by taking power in our own hands. The Medlov family used guns to balance the financial and political means to gain more control over our own lives.” His stare was ice cold.
“You make it sound make so noble,” Gabriel said with a smirk. “But how is anything that we do noble?”

“We never said that we were noble. We are not the round table of fairytale knights in shining armor here to save the world from itself. We simply have saved ourselves. Besides, what government is noble? Show me one. Just over one hundred years ago, slavery was still a systemic revenue base for the free world. Cocaine and meth are still the underlying main products of export for many third world countries. Caste systems and religion fuel the basis for continual oppression of whole peoples. War is a part of mankind, and if this is so,
and it is,
then so is weaponry. If anything, the Medlov family is simply an instrumental supplier of human nature and its desire to control, maintain or balance the ebb and flow of the power structure within any society.”

Gabriel didn’t know how to argue against it. This man sitting in front of him – his uncle – was obviously committed to his cause. It made him envious to see someone so certain of his path. He looked over at Anatoly and saw the same unwavering strength. These men had been bred on power and structure beyond what his mind could comprehend. Again the thought crept into the back of his mind.
You’re in over your head
, he thought to himself.
You’re going to get yourself killed.

Anatoly picked up on his inferiority. Normally, he would have pounced on him, tore him apart. However, he was sympathetic in a way to how lost the man apparently was. He remembered being the same once.

“He can take over for Igor,” Anatoly said, nodding at his father. “It will be on a test basis for now. Igor has a team that was assigned to him by my council. You will come to Memphis and meet them. Then, you will be instructed on how and when you are to transport the product.” He stood up. “You are my cousin, and for that reason
only
, I will give you one chance to do things the right way. But if you start to show signs of being anything like your father, you will be ended.” Anatoly clenched his jaw.

“Thank you for the opportunity,” Gabriel said humbly.

“Just don’t fuck up,” Anatoly said, walking over to his father’s desk. “I have to go, papa,” he mumbled under his voice.

“Where?” Dmitry asked, cutting his eyes at Gabriel. “This is important, Anatoly.”

“The larger decision has been made. I will send for him in a few days... a weekht="0"e. Until then, maybe it is best that he stay here and get to know you better. Maybe you can talk to him. Find out where he mind is.”

Dmitry nodded. “I can do that for you, if you tell me why you have to hurry off so quickly.”

Anatoly ran his hand over the desk and lowered his voice more. “
Rechʹ idet o zhenshchine
,” he said smirking. He had told his father that it was about a
woman
, but he didn’t say whom.

“Renee?” Dmitry asked, standing up.

Anatoly nodded.

“Walk with me out in the courtyard. Let’s get a breath of fresh air,
eh
,” Dmitry said, smiling. “Gabriel, we are finished here. Why don’t you go and relax for a while. What are you doing for dinner?”

“I actually have a date,” Gabriel said, standing up.

“A date?” Anatoly turned around. “With whom?”

“Briggy,” Gabriel answered.

Davyd grumbled in the background. It was the first time that he had made a noise throughout the entire meeting.

Dmitry shook his head. “What is wrong with the Medlov men that we continue to share women in every generation?”

Anatoly rolled his eyes. “If you have ill intentions toward her, then cancel your date,” he said fuming. “She’s not the family whore.”

Gabriel put his hands up. “
Whoa
, man. I would never treat her that way. I just wanted to take her out in the city for dinner.”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Dmitry interjected. “Anatoly,” he said, motioning towards the door. “Will you join me?”

They left Gabriel alone in the room with the bodyguards. He stood looking out of the window and contemplating his next move. By sheer luck, he was finally in on a job. By sheer grace, he’d gotten a date with Briggy. And it looked like he was finally getting a chance to prove himself to his family. But there was an interesting more human side to his situation. He was pleased with himself, pleased that he had been accepted, and it reached far beyond that of his job as an undercover agent. Something deep inside him felt comforted by Anatoly’s approval.

***

Dmitry liked to walk around the large farm. Rolling hills, a beautiful lake, mountains in the nearby view and fresh air made for a truly serene environment. It cleared his mind and gave him time to put things into perspective. He only hoped that it would do the same for his son.

As they walked past the lake that oddenough his unborn child had been conceived near, he stopped and looked out at the ducks basking in the sunlight.

“I always liked Renee,” Dmitry said, slipping on his Aviator shades.

Anatoly stared out at the lake as well. Silently, he tried to formulate his thoughts for the woman into one complete thought, certain that his father would not stop probing until he received the answer that he was looking for.

“And I think that she’ll truly make someone very happy.” Dmitry turned and looked down at his stocky son. “But I have to question why a man in your position would even consider taking on the job when the one that you currently have as boss requires so much of you.”

Anatoly smirked. “I didn’t say that I wanted to marry her.”

“No, you didn’t. But here’s the thing about women like Renee – unlike Victoria or Victoria’s type- Renee is a real woman with die-hard values and priceless conviction.”

“You make her sound like a saint.”

“What I’m saying is that a woman like that requires one hundred percent of your devotion. And as the former boss of the Medlov family, I can tell you that you cannot give her the type of love or protection that she needs.”

“How do you explain Royal then?” Anatoly argued. “Are you really going to stand here and tell me that a boss cannot have anyone in his life?”

“I’m telling you that having a woman like Renee makes you re-evaluate things. You find yourself questioning everything that you used to hold dear. And so early in your career...”.

“Is that what you call this?” Anatoly interrupted. “My career? Please,” he scoffed. “This position requires every solitary drop of my blood, every part of my soul. It consumes me.”

“You always knew that it would,” Dmitry said sighing. “It was what you wanted. Remember?”

“I know.” Anatoly rolled his eyes and shook his head. The constant pain of being torn between his desire as a man and his obligations as boss were starting to exhaust him.

“You know, if you’d like to take some time off and make sure that this is what you want, that is what the council is there for. They are older, distinguished men who have been where you’re going.”

“They are a bunch of money-hungry demons who want just one opportunity to completely usurp my position. And I will not allow it.” Anatoly rejected any notion of the pseudo-council he so dearly wanted to replace in its entirety. “I feel things for her that I’ve never felt for a woman,” he confessed. “And I’m close to losing her.”