“Well, no matter how deep I dug, I was never able to find out exactly how he got from the gulag to the States.” He shook his head with what seemed like amused respect. “I’m guessing there’s a reason why that story doesn’t get told. Being sent to the gulag was pretty much a death sentence, so for him to not only survive but find his way to New York was miraculous and likely required some high-level string-pulling. Ilya had made a lot of friends while he was in prison. Climbed pretty high in the hierarchy of what later became the Russian mafia, orBratva. Learned to hate everything to do with the government, if he didn’t already. Learned a certain code of honor that earned him respect. And Ilya put all of that to use when he came to NewYork.”
Once again, Gary paused as the waitress brought Bas his seconddrink.
“By the time the Soviet Union fell,” he continued a moment later. “Ilya had already moved to Boston and had made himself a bunch of high powered friends - the Colombians, the Irish. While the leaders of the Russian underground were busy dividing up their territory back home, Ilya was already here, staking his own claim, founding SILA.” He looked from Drew to Bas. “He grew his syndicate, and he consolidated his power. And he kept to his own code of honor - he sold information, weapons, protection. Because that was all government bullshit, right? But he became his own authority - kept his men from committing violent crimes as much as possible, kept drugs out of his neighborhood. He was like a Ukrainian Robin Hood. He was, in a word,beloved.”
Drew sat back in his seat, his leg shifting against Bas’s, and they exchanged a look. Drew seemed surprised, but Bas was pretty sure every word Gary said was bullshit. The fucked-up deference Gary was showing Ilya, like the man was a folk hero and SILA was his merry band of elves, was ridiculous. SILA was a group of criminals, and Ilya Stornovich was amurderer. Anyone who said differently waslying.
Bas gripped his glass so tightly his knuckles turned white, and Drew pressed their thighs together beneath the table - either a private show of support or, more likely, a warning for Bas to keep his mouthshut.
But that wasn’t gonnahappen.
“Skip to the important part. When did Ilya become a murderous, scum-sucking asshole?” Basdemanded.
Gary blinked, apparently startled by Bas’s vehemence. “Well, the short version is… hedidn’t.”
“Bull,” Bas said. “You’re telling me SILA is a charitableorganization?”
“Oh, fuck no,” Gary said, shaking his head. His tiny brown eyes - soulless, like a demon’s - turned toward Bas for once. “No, the change that occurred in the organization wasn’t Ilya’s doing, it was Alexei’s.” Gary’s face darkened. “If Ilya is Robin Hood, then Alexei is like that spoiled kid from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory who’s obsessed with getting her way, except imagine him with a penchant for violence and firearms. He’s managed to fuck things up royally in the dozen years since he’s takenover.”
“How so?” Drewasked.
Drew’s leg was still resting against Sebastian’s, not a silent communication anymore but a casual touch. He wasn’t sure if Drew was aware of it, but it felt nice - warm and comfortable. The easy familiarity grounded Bas, and soothed something inside him that had felt prickly and raw allnight.
It reminded him of the way their legs had pressed together during that kiss back in October — so much so that he fought the urge to put his hand on Drew’s back to claim more of his heat. And yeah, maybe also to warn off the weird, sandy-haired dude at the next table, whose eyes kept flicking over to Drew in a speculative way every time he thought he could get away withit.
“Day one of Alexei’s regime, he told his men they had carte blanche,” Gary said, rolling his eyes. “We are SILA, we follow no rules but our own.You can guess, everyone was thrilled, from the lieutenants on down to the foot soldiers. They could now drink, smoke, drug, party, fuck, kill, and steal with impunity. So they did. Foryears. And he managed to lose any respect his father had gained in the community, as well as most of the support from hisseconds.”
Gary turned his glass on the table in front of him, seemingly absorbed in the way the light played over the amber liquid inside. Drew and Bas exchanged anotherlook.
“It’s probably strange that I’m so invested in this, huh?” Gary said, glancing up in amusement. “But I have myreasons.”
Reasons.Bas rolled his eyes, but Drew gave Gary an encouraging smile that had Bas tapping his fingers against the tabletop,thumb-pinkie, thumb-pinkie,ignoring the look Drew shothim.
Drew bit his bottom lip. “So you’re saying that Alexei isn’t very popular? There’s a rift within theorganization?”
This,this, was what they’d come here to learn about. Not some history lesson about brave and noble Ilya, but the inside track on how to take the fuckers down for good. Bas barely stopped himself from leaning in to hear theanswer.
With inquisitive eyes, Gary looked back and forth between Drew and Bas again, but he was far too smart to betray his curiosity out loud. Instead, he took his time before answering the question. “A rift, no. Grumblings, though, for sure. The lieutenants are tired of cleaning up the messes of foot soldiers who have no control. Hell, even the men, themselves, are tired of wondering whether they can trust their brothers, tired of inspiring fear but not respect. Alexei trusts almost no one. Their computer servers are almost all offline now, and they run each crew with strict secrecy so that only a handful of people understand the larger picture. There’s little camaraderie. Alexei has used his men to carry out his personal vendettas, even when it costs money and the lives of his crew. And he’s taken their business ventures into shadier and shadier avenues. Sex trade, child trafficking, adoption scams, identity fraud.” He smiled grimly. “It’s all fun and games until you end up on the terror watchlist.”
“Terrorism?” Bas said, blinking. “Like bombings andthings?”
“Not his crew themselves,” Gary said, shaking his head. “Not yet anyway. But they do like to broker technology, that’s for damn sure.” Bas fought to keep his gaze on Gary, when he really wanted to look at Drew.Brokering technology?Like the kind they’d gotten from Seaver in the past? “But they’ve gotten into stealing identities and using the stolen info to obtain passports for foreign nationals looking to come into theUS.”
“And the government knows this?” Drewdemanded.
“I shouldn’t have to explain the difference betweenknowsandis able to proveto you, Drew,” Gary chided. He shook his head. “Law enforcement agencies are likely well-aware that this is happening, but Alexeiis…”
“Slippery,” Bas finished, using the word he’d been thinking of just last night as he’d looked at Alexei’s picture on his computerscreen.
Gary nodded. “Indeed.”
“Maybe there’ll be some kind of internal coup, and Alexei will be dethroned,” Drew speculated. Gary and Bas both looked at him, and Drew shrugged, as though he was embarrassed. “What? I can be an idealist and a lawyer at the sametime.”
Gary smiled like Drew was magic, and Bas resisted the urge to roll hiseyes.
“I hope you’re right,” Gary allowed. “I had heard that one of Alexei’s lieutenants was thinking to approach Ilya, see if he could corral his son. I don’t believe anything ever came of it. Likely, he recalled Alexei’s impressive collection of guns and his talent for usingthem.”
“What’s the guy’s name?” Bas asked, at the same time Drew demanded, “Why isn’t Ilya still incharge?”
