14
NIK
In the Barkov Organization,I am Nikolai Barkov.
Misha is Misha Barkov.
We carry the weight of our adoptive father’s empire—the debts, the blood, the sins we never asked for.
On the ice, I am Nikolai Ivanov, my real name, my real blood. A mask I wear for the world, a man they think they know.
Living two lives isn’t a skill. It’s a gamble. I work hard to keep the two worlds separate, but the truth is, the line between them is a goddamn lie.
Most people see what they want to see:
Nikolai Ivanov. Nikolai Barkov.
Two names. Two faces.
Safe to assume they’re different men.
Ignorance is bliss.
A few, though, know the truth. Know that the same man drifts between shadows and spotlights, that loyalty and violence sometimes collide with hockey pucks and locker room banters.
The same hands that score game-winning goals.
Can crush windpipes without hesitation.
The same voice that roars on the bench.
Can whisper threats that make grown men tremble.
The overlap is inevitable, especially since Don Campisi holds the strings for the team I play for.
And apparently, I’ll be seeing him very soon.
At the Commission meeting.
Where power isn’t earned, it’s taken.
Where deals are coated in blood and loyalty is tested with knives hidden in smiles.
One wrong move, one careless word, and everything you are…everything you think you own…can vanish in an instant.
“I see,” I say to Lars, who has just announced that he will be traveling to the States soon to attend this rare meeting.
“You and your sister will be there,” Lars says. Not a question.
“I have West Coast games leading up to it, but I’ll book a redeye back.”
“Khoroshiy,” Lars says. “I need you both. What is your report?”
“The Campisi family was in the box recently. I don’t know for sure which ones, but I did hear a conversation post-game between Vincenzo, his oldest, and Coach Harris.”
Lars makes a noise of interest. “About?”
“Throwing games. Harris is doing his part, but unwillingly. Vincenzo seems to be threatening his family. He’s unhinged, as we already knew, and there is only Ezra in the mix at the moment beyond that. My understanding is that the daughter is a full-time college student at Northwestern. She’s top of her class and spends time with her family, but doesn’t seem to be doing any specific work for them at the moment. The other son is in prison, but you knew that.”
