The Life We Lead: Ascending (4 page)

James noticed that even though he wore a long
sleeved shirt, a tattoo was partially visible on his hand and
another one right below his collarbone, visible from his unbuttoned
collar.

“No,” the man replied curtly.

James felt a surge come over him; it was
almost time for whatever was coming. He focused on the man and gave
him a quick visual scan, making mental notes.

Checked with left hand, right hand not
visible. Probably right handed and has a weapon. Made eye contact.
Limits tattoos to areas that can be hidden, so someone who’s in the
public eye. Looks like he can handle himself well. No visible
scars. Right eye slightly larger than left, weight shifted to right
foot, so extremely right dominant; will probably be thrown off with
a left handed fighter. Lean and top heavy, so free floating rib
best point of immediate attack.

“Thank you,” James said and walked toward
room nine. The clerk picked up the phone and spoke in Russian in a
hushed voice.

Thud. Thud.

Daen had jumped twice.

James stopped in front of room nine. He made
a show of putting the key in the door but then stopped, pretending
he’d forgotten something. He placed the key back in his pocket and
turned. He thought he heard a small creak from inside the room as
he headed for the stairs.

A few seconds later, he was in the room with
Daen. “The clerk is helping whoever’s behind this little
arrangement. Any conditions we need to remove?”

“No, man, I don’t see any kids around, just
two guys sitting in the room.” Daen pointed at the monitor. “Seems
like these folks are serious about teaching you that respect. You
sure all you did was challenge that fool in the subway?”

“Yes sir, but go figure that logic out. You
want the room or the clerk?” He walked over to the balcony, ready
to drop down, already knowing Daen’s answer.

“Dumb question. The clerk. What do you think,
catch him in the hallway or at the desk before you start?”

“The desk would be best. He knows how to
fight and is very right dominant. Chances are he’s packing, too.
Let’s try to keep this quiet,” said James with a smile. “Say sixty
seconds?”

“Works for me.” Daen slid his pistol in his
jacket while James checked his triggers for the mini-flashes and
the men’s positions in the room via the monitors, both of which
faced the door to the hallway.

James walked to the balcony and hung down.
Just as he let go, he heard Daen exclaim, “Damn!” in a hushed
voice.

Landing, James peered up, wondering what was
wrong.

Daen’s head appeared. “Petior just walked
into the lobby.” He dropped James a microphone pack and went back
in the room.

James hooked up the earpiece, digesting this
piece of information. “What do you see?”

“He’s still at the desk, probably trying to
get a room number. What do you want to ... Damn. One of the guys
left the room and is walking toward the desk. They’re shouting. I
can hear them through the floor.”

“I am breaching the room, taking out the
remaining man with the flash, and will join you in the lobby. Go
now,” said James. Turning his back to the building, he detonated
the flashes with his eyes shut.

Bang.

One count, and James pushed open the window
he’d unlocked and climbed in the room. He could hear noise in the
lobby, but he had to take down the guy in the room. He quickly
crossed over to the man. Obviously blinded from the flash, the man
was holding his ears and grimacing.

James considered a sleeping hold but didn’t
have time.

Crack, crack.

James hit the man in the jaw twice, hard
enough to dislocate it, and the guy dropped to the floor. James
took out his gun. He barely had a foot in the hallway when he saw
Daen running out the front door. 

James followed, but before he reached the
door, Daen was speaking into the earpiece.

“The clerk and the guy that came out of room
nine grabbed Petior. Saw them take him out the side door that is
next to the revolving door. They shoved him in a black sedan and
took off. I have the plate. You okay?”

James knew Daen was smart enough not to give
chase. The idea of trying to chase a vehicle in an area you don’t
know isn’t an action a member of the group would consider. It was
pointless if you didn’t have the ability to stop the vehicle.

“Fine. I have one more guy in the room. Hey!”
James exclaimed as he rounded the corner and reentered room nine.
The man was attempting to escape out the window.

“Bryan, alley!” James shouted as he sprinted
across the room and out the window.

The man staggered to his feet in a weak
attempt to flee as James tackled him, dropping his knee into the
man’s back in the snow and wrist-locking him to the middle of his
own shoulder blades.

And there it was. What he had felt coming was
here. And now that it was, James could trace it, like the others,
to a dream he’d had.

When Daen arrived, he used a zip tie from his
pack to quickly secure the man’s hands. James stuffed a bit of
fabric from the man’s shirt into his mouth and they hustled him
back inside room nine through the window, letting him fall on his
head.

“Go see if there is a real front desk clerk
tied up, then come back. We need to minimize potential
witnesses.”

Daen left without a word, shutting the door
behind him. James propped the bound man in a chair, closed the
window, and turned to study him.

Now that James considered him, the guy wasn’t
that old. In fact, he had to be two or maybe three years younger
than himself. James pulled out the gun, made sure the safety was
on, and pointed it at him.

He looked familiar, especially something
around the cheeks, but the left side of his face was rather swollen
and James couldn’t place him.

The man looked around nervously. Enough of
his senses had come back that he knew he was in trouble.

“Do you speak English?” James asked.

The man looked around even more
frantically.

“Do you speak English?” James repeated with
more force.

The man nodded, continuing to look around the
room.

“If you make any noise or yell, I’ll shoot
you in the head. I’m going to remove the gag. Do you understand?”
James looked the young man in the eyes.

The man stared at James for a moment before
giving a single nod.

James approached him with his gun in a back
stance and got just close enough to remove the cloth with a tug
before taking two steps back. He wasn’t secured to the chair, and
James was going cautiously until Daen was back.

“Are you seriously hurt?” James asked.

The young man shook his head.

“What is your name?”

No reply.

“I said, what is your name? What are you
called?”

“Nikolias,” the man answered.

“Where did they take our friend?” James
asked.

“What friend? Is two of you,” came the raspy
voice of Nikolias.

“A man, a friend of ours, they took him from
the lobby. Where would they take him?” James asked.

“Why should I tell you?” sneered
Nikolias.

“Well, besides me having a gun pointing at
you, imagine me pointing it at your sister,” James said in a flat
tone.

“I have no sister,” Nikolias said with a ring
of defiance, but also truth.

“Your cousin then, the girl in the subway
station who works to keep the other children in line,” James said
coolly, having finally placed Nikolias’s face.

“What? You are lying,” the man said, but this
time his body language betrayed him.

“Oh, and I just happened to mention the
subway and her job?” James asked in a sarcastic tone.

“She is not my family. Do what you think. It
is nothing to me,” Nikolias lied.

“She is your family. I can see it in your
face and cheekbones. And if your life and hers really mean nothing
to you ...” James chambered the gun.

“You will not hurt her. You will not!”
Nikolias started to shout.

“Quiet down.” James waved his hand up and
down to make sure Nikolias understood. “If you tell me where to
find my friend, I’ll let you go as well as her. I’ll also help you
find a way to get out of this area if you want. I’ll also help
protect you,” he said as Daen entered the room.

“There was a clerk back there. Looks like
they knocked him out, but he’ll be alright. I saw the schedule.
Natalia was supposed to work tonight man. Not whoever was back
there,” said Daen.” He gestured with his head to Nikolias before
tying him to the chair. “What’d you get from him?”

“Nikolias here was about to tell us where we
can find Petior, in exchange for his life and his cousin’s, along
with my promise to help protect them if they want it.”

“You made some progress then. About time you
do something tonight.” Daen grinned, grabbing the other chair. He
faced it toward Nikolias and sat down.

Both Daen and James peered at Nikolias with
anticipation, but he said nothing. He seemed to be concentrating
very hard.

Daen started to speak to Nikolias in Russian,
and Nikolias’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“We can help you,” Daen said, “but you need
to help us. All we want to know is how to get our friend back.
Consider your situation and how we’ve treated you so far. We’re
trying to be fair to you and give you help in return for help.”

“What makes you think I need your help?”
Nikolias answered.

“You’re our prisoner, but you’re a captive of
whatever group you …” Daen began, but Nikolias cut him off.

“What makes you think I want to leave?”
growled Nikolias.

“When you help us, your bosses won’t be too
happy with you, and your cousin and you will need to leave to
survive,” replied Daen.

“So he says,” Nikolias said curtly with a
head gesture towards James.

“What did he say? Why did he just do that?”
asked James.

“Sounds like he doesn’t feel a need to help
us. Seems he doesn’t want or have a reason to leave,” Daen replied,
a puzzled look on his face.

“I am no traitor, and I will die to help our
fraternity and country. I am loyal and believe in things, unlike
you American dogs,” Nikolias stated in English.

James bowed his head, closed his eyes, and
rubbed his temple for a moment with his left hand. He dragged it
down his face before speaking again.

“Okay, tell us what the fraternity’s cause
is. What’s so special about it that you are willing to risk your
life, your cousin’s life, and that of our friend because someone
felt I was disrespectful near a train,” said James.

Nikolias laughed. “We know you looking for
drugs. You feel drugs aren’t disrespectful and destroying. You
think we do not know that is why you are here. We see you peoples
and how you treat us. You all deserve death for exploits on us and
our children.”

It all clicked into place for James. “Bryan,
please translate what I’m about to say. I want to make sure our
friend here understands completely.”

Daen nodded.

“You are right,” James affirmed. “We are
seeking those who deal in drugs. But we seek it for the same reason
you do. We do not wish to purchase drugs or sell them. We want to
stop those who are doing it.” He paused to let this sink in. “We’ve
been able to find a connection that somehow links several mafia
factions. We’re trying to understand how it works, find those
responsible, and bring them to justice. We’re on the same
side.”

As Daen finished translating James’s final
words, James walked over and released Nikolias.

The room was silent as Nikolias sat rubbing
his hands and looking at Daen and James.

Daen hid his surprise at James’s actions. His
companion always seemed to keep things under control, and Daen was
placing his faith in that judgment.

After a few long moments, Nikolias stood. As
he did, James spotted a tattoo on his wrist.

“If we are on same side,” the man spoke
slowly, “you must show good faith. My weapon back, please.” He
stammered as if doubting his own daring in making such a
request.

“You can have your gun back.” James removed
the ammunition from Nikolias’s gun and held it out to him.

“And the bullets?” asked Nikolias.

“Those you may not have back, at least not
yet. However ...” James unchambered his own gun and took out all
the rounds. “We will remove our ammunition as well. Is that more
fair?”

Nikolias considered him and nodded.

“Stephen …” began Daen in an uncertain
voice.

James cut him off. He had this, and Daen
needed to cooperate.

Slowly, Daen removed the rounds from his gun,
too.

“Nikolias, that symbol on your hand, is that
the symbol of your fraternity?” James asked.

Nikolias raised his hand to show the tattoo
as he took a pace or two to the side.

“Da.”

“It is the same symbol I saw at the train
station, on your friend’s tattooed neck tonight, and several other
places, like the window ledge of Roman’s restaurant. Roman is a
good friend of our friend Petior’s, too,” stated James.

Nikolias gave a start of recognition at
Roman’s name.

“What does it mean?” Daen asked.

“It is the hammer and sickle stretched out
and lying parallel, as if making equal sign. The lies of the old
country, but with the sword of truth running through to show it is
not equal, and we will break it and rise up from a rebellion,” said
Nikolias. He ran his finger over each part as he described the
tattoo and then continued.

“They use drugs to keep us down, hurt our
family, our children, and make everyone dependent on them for
everything so they have all power. They take our children. They
only respect violence. We protect ourselves and take out as many as
we can in the fight to get the power back to the people of Russia.
To have a strong, fierce, respected nation again.”