“Volkov, we’ve been on your tail for some time, and at first we were thinking about the possibility of recruiting you, but now we see that you’ll be of no use to us. If you have no idea the value of what you stole, then you’re better off dead. You can’t survive in a world like this one,” the masked man said, and before I could offer up anything else, I heard five clear shots fire off in the kitchen, followed by the harrowing screams of who I believed to be one of my friends.
“That’s to let you know that we’re serious. We’re going to keep taking your friends out one by one until you decide to tell us where the fucking painting is,” he said again.
“You’re not going to touch anyone else. If you think I have what you want, then you better pack up your weapons and get the fuck off this property. We’ll make a deal like men, not like animals. Understood?” My gun was still pointing in his direction and he knew I could take him out before anyone got to me.
“Fine. We’ll give you two days. If we don’t have the painting by then, we’re going to have to resort to desperate measures,” he said, and his eyes averted over to the double doors I came out from, and at that moment I realized he had been talking about Annika. I had no relation to her, but now she was in danger because of me, because I decided to steal a painting I didn’t even know the true value of.
The men cleared out of there, honoring their word for the time being, while I rushed into the kitchen to see Adrian laid out on the kitchen floor, his head resting in a pool of his own blood. I felt a sudden pang in my heart, reminding myself that this was all my fault, and if I had just left that painting right where it was, Adrian might’ve still been alive.
This is a tragic moment, and I lost a dear friend of mine, but something tells me that giving up that painting is going to be a mistake. I’m going to hold onto it until I can figure out who wants it so badly to tear this place apart looking for it. Though now I have other things to worry about. If those men know who Annika is and that this house belongs to her, I have to consider her marked. I didn’t want to drag her or anyone into this mess, and I certainly wasn’t aware that a single painting would cause so much commotion, but I feel like I owe it to her to offer my protection. I don’t want her knowing that I have it either, at least not for now.
I glanced around at the horrific scene before me, looking over my shoulder to see if I could spot Eduard or Feliks, but they were nowhere to be found. I called out for them, and I heard them shout from upstairs, rushing down to see what happened.
Good, they didn’t hear any of that. That’s going to make things a bit easier on me.
“What the fuck happened, Stephan?” asked Eduard.
“Where were you guys?”
“There were men climbing up through the balconies, and we took out the few we could before we were surrounded. Eventually, they got word and left, but I don’t know why,” replied Feliks.
“I’ll show you why,” I said, leading them into the kitchen where they looked down to see our friend laying there absolutely lifeless. They all went white with shock, and I stood there shaking my head, trying not to let on that I knew exactly what this was about.
“Oh my God! Adrian?” We heard a voice call out, rushing over, and it was Natalia. I watched as Annika came out of hiding to embrace her friend, and we all stood there overlooking the tragedy, trying to figure out what to do next. I glanced over at Annika, and she had tears in her eyes. I knew this was not how she expected her evening to go, and in that moment I just wanted to make things better for her.
