Saving Anya (10 page)

When Dmitry finally entered into the dimly lit great room guarded by two men posted at the door with semiautomatic rifles, his two young mentees were at the bar.

Anatoly was slouched on a stool reading something on his I-pad in a pair of dark jeans and black t-shirt, while Gabriel stood behind the bar making them both a strong drink and looking the part of the professor in a turtleneck and slacks.

Dmitry smirked under his breath as he thought of an old saying that had rung true in his life for many decades. A man dresses for the part in his life that he wants to play, not that he is currently playing.
But what if you want no more in life than what you have?
Then you dress like Anatoly.

The boy always carried a sort of “who gives a fuck” attitude, and unlike many it was not a façade.

Gabriel however was something of an enigma. He was capable of so much yet, he hadn’t truly been tested. He could be the key or he could be a complete failure. Time would tell.

The news played on the television across the room in the entertainment unit while Anya’s dog and Anatoly’s dogs sat in the middle of the floor in front of the couch on Dmitry’s rug taking a nap. He frowned on the sight.

Dmitry would have normally said something about the animals being in the house, but he let it go for now. With Anya gone, he didn’t want anything to happen to her pet, and Anatoly was not going to leave his in Memphis while on an indefinite leave to Prague.

He and those damned dogs were inseparable. So here they all were…one big fucking family.

Closing the door behind him as he entered, Dmitry looked across the room in the corner, hidden in the shadows, and spotted Vasily, attentively watching with his hands folded on his chest. He gave a nod, blessing the man with his acknowledgment.

Dmitry could instantly see the gratification in the young captain’s eyes. He knew that Vasily had aspirations of one day ascending to the council the way that Davyd had done. And now would be a good opportunity to show what he was really capable of under serious pressure.

“
Papa,” Anatoly said, standing up when he realized his father was in the room. He quickly put away his gadgets and stood up.

Dmitry stepped down the stairs into the room slowly, hands in his pockets and gave a languid smile but his tired eyes told a different story.

“
Uncle Dmitry,” Gabriel said, rounding the corner of the bar. His voice was pitched a little higher, unable to hide his apparent concern.

“
Boys,” Dmitry replied. “I’m glad to see you.” His voice was dark and hollow.

“
But under such fucked up circumstances,” Anatoly added turning up his lip. “I can’t believe the old man is dead.”

Dmitry had managed to put Davyd’s death in the back of his mind for a moment but just the mention brought it to the forefront again. He looked over at his son smacking his lips. “After all these years together, he’s taken out like this. I tell you what. I’m going to eat the heart of the motherfucker responsible for this.”

Anatoly believed him. “Share a left ventricle with me,” he said in agreement.

“
You know, before this is all over, I’ll have to tell you how I came to own this house.”

“
Yeah, I always wondered why Prague,” Anatoly said with his interest peaked.

Dmitry realized then that he had never fully explained any part of his life to anyone. The only ones who truly knew the stories were either dead or sworn to secrecy. “It was your grandfather’s,” he said to Anatoly in a whisper. He nodded at his son when he saw his eyes narrow.

“
What?”

“
Like I said, I’ll tell you about all of that before this is all over,” Dmitry said, sucking on his bottom lip. “For now, we remember the dead and the missing by leaving no stone unturned.”

“
Any word?” Anatoly asked quickly.

“
No. I’ve got guys on the wire 24 hours a day. They are in there now going through all types of chatter on phones, on computers, imports, exports, flights...” he sighed. “Everything that can be done is being done or is about to be done to get her back.”

Gabriel didn’t say a word. He simply watched, waiting for an explosion of some sort from the old man.

But Dmitry was in no mood for theatrics. In fact, quietly he had pulled his thoughts together into a ball that was held tight in the center of his chest. Sure, he could feel it with every breath, but he chose not to show it. No gratification for anyone who might enjoy.

“
I see you were fixing drinks. One for me?” Dmitry asked.

“
Sure,” Gabriel said nodding. He walked back over behind the bar.

Anatoly watched his father’s face and could clearly see the pain. “We’ll get her back,” he said under his breath to reassure his father. He knew him well and knew that his father’s rage was boiling to a fever pitch.

“
I know,” Dmitry whispered, walking over to the bar. He unbuttoned his suit jacket, pulled it off and put it behind his chair. Sitting down gracefully, he pulled out his wallet and opened it to a picture of Anya. “This is the primary focus of our lives until we get her back, boys.”

“
I’ve got that one,” Anatoly said, pulling out his own wallet.

“
Me, too,” Gabriel said, pulling out Anya’s picture as well.

“
You know, for many years, I did not truly understand the meaning of family, but now I do, and it is far more valuable than money. If they offer a price, I will pay it, but once she is home safely…”

“
Everybody dies,” Anatoly finished with a grimace. Every thought since he had heard the news had been with his poor, innocent sister. He, like his father, would do anything to get her back.

Dmitry looked over at Gabriel with mild concern. “I want their pain to be evident for many years to come for all who may hear about it. Death on a scale that only sick bastards are capable of. Sometimes, it’s the only way. You have to remind people that while you can be civil there is still a part of you so animalistic, so sadistic until God himself will come down to smite you for your vengeance.” He smiled at the thought. “Are
you
up for this, Gabriel?”

Gabriel frowned. “Of course.”

“
There is no by
the book
on this. We murder everyone involved.” Dmitry’s eyes were empty as he picked up the shot glass and downed the strong vodka without flinching.

Neither of the other men in the room could do that. Dmitry could drink like a fish although he more than often chose not to.

“
I’m a Medlov. Family first,” Gabriel answered as he looked over at Anatoly for some back up, but Anatoly knew that he’d have to face his father himself on this one.

“
So, you’ve renounced your former allegiance to the United States government, have you? Given up on the American dream?” Dmitry interrogated Gabriel further.

Gabriel’s green eyes were bright with honesty. “In every capacity. Hell, I’m on every watch list from here to Miami since I left the agency,” Gabriel said, picking up his own drink. “There is no turning back now.”

And Gabriel was right. Since he left the DEA, he had become a target and not because he had broken any rules. In fact, the investigation he had worked on had yielded two very incriminating international crime figures – just as Dmitry had planned- but nothing could get in the way that everyone knew that he was Medlov. And the fact that he was still on good terms with the world’s most dangerous man, and that he was now very wealthy, ultimately meant that he was a threat.

“
He’s one of us without being one of us. That’s sort of ironic isn’t it?” Anatoly smirked, his expression inscrutable.

For the moment, Gabriel couldn’t tell if his cousin was on his side or not, but he didn’t care. “Look, I know how I came into this family. I know what I did. And every day I wish that I could take it back, but I walked away from that life. And I’m here right now, not because I have to be, but because I want to be for Anya, for Dmitry and for all of us.”

Anatoly crossed his tanned muscular arms and cocked his head at his cousin. The intricate Russian tattoos ran down them from his shoulder caps to his long fingers. Raising his brow at his cousin, he sucked his teeth. “No need to get sensitive,” he said in a heavy Russian accent. “We know the story all too well.”

Anatoly and Gabriel locked eyes for a moment. While ultimately, they had moved past Gabriel’s deceit nearly a year ago, but there were still remnants of discomfort between the two. However, now was not the time nor was it the place to discuss it.

Dmitry watched the men and smacked his lips.

“
Anatoly, I don’t think you realize what he has done,” Dmitry explained in a monotone voice. “You have always chosen this side of the law – whatever that is. In my time, I’ve seen judges, politician’s and police men be far more brutal than any thug, but in the structure of society that we have chosen, we are the criminals. Gabriel has always been the Boy Scout, top of his class, destined to be some agent in charge with the United States Government at his back. He has given up everything for us. And what…what have we given him in return? A few million dollars that were already his? You know, if it weren’t for his grandmother and mother for that matter, we wouldn’t be billionaires. It all serves a purpose.
Net
, what I’m talking about is much deeper than just money, boys. Plus, Gabriel is family, and he’s going to prove it
now
.”

Anatoly picked up on what his father was saying. “But he
was
a cop,” he argued. “And he could still be a traitor. If the opportunity presented itself.”

“
Traitor to what? I don’t have anything…except Briggy and my family,” Gabriel said, pouring another. His mood turned dark at the thought.

“
I don’t have all the answers. I don’t pretend to, papa. I just…I can’t handle the idea of one more Medlov stabbing us in the back.” Anatoly didn’t move his unwavering gaze from his cousin, who looked down on him now like he was ready to kill him where he stood.

“
I could see how that might complicate things but…” Dmitry paused and looked over at his nephew who was oblivious to the underlying conversation. “We have a responsibility to our own. And I can think of no other way.”

“
I don’t see how the code would permit,” Anatoly said nonchalantly.

Dmitry shrugged his large square shoulders. “It’s never been done before. It’s not necessarily
against
the code. There have been other men who have served the Vor after they have left other government capacities and even during.” Dmitry poured another drink. “And he is family. There is nowhere for him to go and after this, there really will be no turning back.”

“
He’s never even killed anyone,” Anatoly huffed. “No one.”

“
He’ll get his chance,” Dmitry said, looking at Gabriel. “So, I’m asking you one last time before you enter this abyss that you are currently hovering over…are you ready to become what you are now destined for?”

“
To kill for my family? To protect the only things that I left? ” Gabriel asked in a huff. “Of course.” He clenched his square jaw and looked more like his father than ever before under brooding eyes and chiseled features.

Anatoly was not so sure, but he would chance it if his father would also. “We should ease him into this then.”

“
Were you
eased into this
?” Dmitry asked with a condescending grin.

“
No,” Anatoly answered short. “I guess not.”

Dmitry took another shot. “He’s a grown man. He’s made his choice. Now, let him stand by it. He goes out with us when the time is right.”

“
We’re going to make the real extraction?” Anatoly asked amused.

“
Do you really want someone else to have that satisfaction? Do you want someone else to see their eyes fade?” Dmitry snarled involuntarily as he thought of what he would do to the person or persons responsible for this.

“
No, I don’t,” Anatoly answered honestly. “You’ve just been so adamant lately about being as far removed from the work as possible…”

“
You mean like the deal with Toni in Memphis last night? You were pretty up close and personal on that one. You didn’t trust anyone else to do such a simple deal? It was beneath you. Vasily could have done it. Hell, Renee could have done it,” Dmitry huffed.

“
I needed to see his eyes, to make sure he was legit,” Anatoly answered, shocked that his father still tracked his every movement. It infuriated him inwardly, but this was not the forum to discuss it.

“
Well, neither one of us likes to be too far removed…do we?” Dmitry looked at his son in silence.

“
Point taken,” Anatoly digressed again.

“
Excuse me, but I’m sort of lost,” Gabriel finally interrupted.

“
It’s nearly time for you to take your place on the Medlov council, for you to convert completely,” Dmitry answered. He could see the wave of emotion as it washed over Gabriel’s face. “It’s either that or look over your shoulder for the rest of your life with no one to protect it.”

“
Should we really be using fear as the determining factor?” Anatoly asked, playing devil’s advocate.