Chapter Nine: Rurik
Irefuse to be scared. This is my golden opportunity to get away from the Andreyev Family once and for all. I saw the chance I’d been looking for, and I’d be a fool not to take it. Mr. Andreyev might have had control over me for a great portion of my adult life, but he couldn’t do that any longer. I finally know what it’s like to be out on the other side, and I am going to make sure that I live every day waiting for the right moment to strike back, and make him pay for what he’d done to me and all the rest of his men hiding away plotting their revenge. I knew I couldn’t have been the only one, and I was going to make sure that Mr. Andreyev would go down, that his fortune would be destroyed right before his eyes, so that I could emerge from the ruins, and rebuild a legacy in my name.
I glanced over at Marianna, watching as she peered over the menu to decide whether she wanted kasha or fried eggs, trying to distance herself from the true troubles that she was dealing with. I knew it took a lot out of her to even come with me, to not take off the first chance she got to go looking for her friend when she would’ve ended up just where she was, locked away, only to be killed and not missed by anyone. That wasn’t the life I wanted to see Marianna live, because even though she couldn’t see it, I realized that she had quite a bit of potential to survive in a world quite like this one. She was smart, she kept the people around her on their toes, and she never struggled to share how she really felt. I wanted to ignore how wonderful it was to have spent the night with her, to feel every inch of her body under mine, but I knew that was a conversation for another time. I wasn’t even sure if there was a part of her that regretted it, because she hadn’t said anything since, but I could already feel that there was some tension between us.
I couldn’t ignore how beautiful she was, how different I felt when I was around her. It was like she unlocked a part of me that I didn’t know existed, which fuelled me with the will to fight back. I felt like a different man around her, one that could hold his own, and after spending the night with her, it made me grow to be a little protective. I wondered if there would be anything substantial between us, or if we were just working towards a common goal. Whatever it was, it made me feel alive for the first time in a while, and our connection was undeniable. I supposed time would tell where we go from here.
Marianna would never be able to think about anything else until she was sure that we were on our way to getting what we wanted, and even though our goals differed, they all met at the same fork in the road. I wanted the Andreyev Family to be wiped out, and she simply wanted her friend back. Marianna and I both were going to have to prove our loyalty to the people that needed to help, those that would put us in touch with the right weapons and men to help do the job, because there was no way we’d be able to take on Mr. Andreyev’s army without the right cavalry. I could only hope that Kir would be able to help us. It was enough to even answer my message, and it was hard to convince him over the phone that I was in fact a Volkov. I’d seen him come to my brothers’ rescue countless times, and I’ve listened in on a few conversations he’d had with Viktor when I was still living at home.
I wondered if he was going to ask me to divulge the secrets of my past, because I could already tell that Marianna was waiting to hear the truth about where I came from, and what I planned on doing now that we were on the run together. I couldn’t tell her the truth, that I was afraid of what they’d say, always looking at me as their younger brother, the one that had all the potential, but never knew what to do with it. I was so desperate to prove them wrong that I landed myself in this mess, and I had to get myself out of it before I could even think about seeing any of them again. I didn’t want to see the disappointment on their faces, the look that would’ve told me that they regretted not sticking around to show me the ropes, to guide me along the way they did for others. I had far too much pride to let them get under my skin, to break down in front of them and let them be the ones to help me rebuild. I had to stand on my own two feet for a change, and I was going to make sure that I made a name for myself the right way, so that I would make my brothers proud, and have something that is entirely my own to fall back on. I could only hope that I was going to be able to keep pushing forward, because I couldn’t deny that the Andreyev Family had a hold over me for a very long time, truly convincing me that I had to stick around otherwise they’d take it upon themselves to hunt me down and kill me.
I don’t want to spend the rest of my life running, and so I have to get rid of the problem the same way Mr. Andreyev has had me get rid of his enemies. They have to be disposed of the same way they’ve tasked us with when they gave us a new man to hunt down. I would like nothing more than to see them suffer under my hand for a change.I thought, glancing down at my phone screen to see if I’d received a message from Kir. Just when I thought that he might have stood us up, I saw him come in through the door, listening to the little bell above it ring overhead while his eyes finally locked with mine.
He came straight to our table, surprised to see that we were not alone, and I got ready to explain before he sat down comfortably, right as the waitress brought over our food. He smiled at me, as though it was truly like he was visiting an old friend, but we both knew very well that we were there strictly on business, and I could see the confusion on Marianna’s face, while she listened attentively.
“Now, this is a face I haven’t seen in a very long time,” said Kir, while he toyed with the salt shaker, eyeing the beautiful waitress at the other end of the diner.
“You know I would’ve called if I could, but as we discussed earlier, up until recently I wasn’t the one calling the shots in my own life. I hope you realize that you even speaking to me right now means that you’re going to join the rest of us on the Andreyevs’ hit list,” I said, and he smiled.
“I’ve been on their hit list for a very long time. Do you really think that you’re the first Volkov to come into contact with the Andreyev Family? I know you told me to keep this under wraps from Viktor and the rest of your brothers, but I can’t help but question why you would’ve gone to them in the first place when you had everything you needed right at home,” said Kir, and I was bracing for the moment he’d decide to start prying into my past, because I watched Marianna’s ear perk up at the sheer mention of my family. She still had a lot of questions that she was longing to ask, but I promised myself that I would stay focused, make sure that we had some semblance of safety before I started taking a trip down memory lane. Now, I was starting to think that was just going to have to wait, because I needed Kir’s help, and I’d have to tell him whatever he wanted to know if I wanted him to get us both in contact with a weapons supplier.
“You wouldn’t be able to understand, Kir. I didn’t want to have my brothers building a life for me when I was quite capable of doing that on my own. I took a wrong turn, and I’ve been paying for that ever since, but don’t forget that I was always the one that was ready to take a stand whenever my brothers were debating fighting back against their enemies, and that hasn’t changed. If I’d known back then what I know now, I probably wouldn’t be in this position, I wouldn’t have to fight for my life and constantly look over my shoulder. Though, now I’m not alone. I have something that the Andreyevs want, and so long as she’s alive, they’re going to keep coming after us. I need to make sure that she and I both remain safe, and that we’ll soon be well on our way to ridding ourselves of the Andreyev Family for good,” I explained, and he nodded, appreciative that I decided to open up to him, because he always pegged me as the closed-off type.
“And who might this be?” he asked, finally.
“My name is Marianna, and I’m Mr. And Mrs. Andreyev’s birth child. They recently found out about me, and now they want me dead because they’re afraid that I’m going to swoop in and take things from them, even though I can’t even imagine how that would be possible. They seem like such powerful people, surely they could keep someone like me away,” Marianna confessed, and it was nice to see that she could read the room, keep her voice low, and tell Kir what he needed to know to persuade him into helping us.
“It’s nice to meet you, Marianna. I’m sorry that your birth parents turned out to be psychopaths, but I can safely say that you seem to be nothing like them. Your friend here, Rurik, seems to think that the world would be a better place if he just got rid of the people that ruined his life, but do me a favor and convince him that he’s going to have to do more than that if he wants to keep his gears turning,” said Kir, addressing Marianna as though he was already aware that she seemingly had a hold over me. I hadn’t quite acknowledged it then, but Kir was always quite the perceptive man, and he could always tell when a Volkov man was falling for someone that would cause a great deal of trouble.
“I’m right here,” I said, trying to break up their conversation.
“I know, but you’ve always had quite a trouble listening to good advice, even when it hits you straight in the face. I know that it’s your pride that landed you here in the first place, and you’re having trouble seeing how you’re going to exist without having someone to fight off, but I just want you to see that there’s so much more to life out there than you may realize. You were taken in by the Andreyev Family far too young, allowing them to brainwash you into thinking this was all you’d ever be capable of achieving, but the fact that you got out, that you’re protecting Marianna here, and that you decided to call me, leads me to believe that you still have Volkov blood coursing through you,” he said.
“I’m a Volkov, first and foremost. Nothing that ever happens to me or anyone I care about will ever make me forget that,” I replied, and he nodded. I knew what he was doing, trying to get me to see that despite everything that happened, I still had the potential I did when I first embarked on a journey to make a name for myself. He meant well, but we had to focus on getting what we needed to take down Mr. Andreyev’s minions first, so we could start unraveling every corner of his business bit by bit until he virtually had nothing left. I wanted to see him suffer the same way I had, having to resort to doing the gruesome, horrific things that he’d always made me do, but this time the difference will be that he will have to do it to the ones he cares about.
Nothing would’ve given me greater joy than to finally have my revenge, to be free to make my own enemies, to have the power to call the shots in my own life, and this was the first step into seeing that through. I looked at Kir, watching him take in everything that I’d said, while he continued to press me for more information. He had me tell him the most recent things I’ve seen while staying at the Andreyev Family mansion, the faces I’ve come into contact with, who needs to be saved, and who is too far gone to even be bothered with. He needed all this information to gauge just how much manpower we were really going to need, and how we were going to make sure that they didn’t double-cross us if they got a better offer. I’d learned a lot from Kir in the field, even if I’d always been the one on the sidelines back then, but now I was front and center, waiting to do whatever it was going to take to get what I wanted.
I looked over at Marianna to see just how much of the conversation she was tuning into, and what parts were going to make her flinch, as the gears turned behind her eyes while she tried to process everything. She was surprisingly calm after hearing about my family history and the things I’d had to do to protect myself, and I was starting to think that maybe she was cut out for this after all. I was surprised she didn’t try to slip away, run for her life, left up to her own devices to get her friend back and part with all of this tragedy once and for all, but she stayed put, listened closely to what Kir had to say, and we were finally getting somewhere.
“I’ll help you, but you have to let me ease you into all of this. People are going to take kindly to you knowing that you are a Volkov, but once they learn about your connection to the Andreyevs, they might change their minds. We have to weed out the bad ones, and make sure that the ones that stick around are worth the trouble,” said Kir, and I nodded, watching Marianna take a deep breath as though we were just about to take off into battle right then.
I followed Kir’s gaze to the window that sat directly in the middle of the table, watching him peer out of it, and I saw his expression change entirely. He no longer appeared calm, ready to divulge the details of what the next phase of our plan was going to be. I looked over at the window to see a group of men starting to approach the diner, and that’s when I knew we were in trouble.
“Looks like we’ve got company,” said Kir.
“We better get out of here,” I said, and Marianna looked at me scared, wondering if we were really going to make it out before they stormed the place. I reached down for her hand that was between us in the booth, squeezing it tightly to let her know that everything was going to be okay. It wasn’t my first time dealing with a band of criminals just trying to make their boss happy, but I knew quite well that a lot of them were there not of their own free will. They didn’t want to spend their lives taking out people they barely knew just so they could climb the ranks, but never seeming to reach the top of the food chain. It was time they all learned a lesson about what it truly meant to break away from the manipulation, and finally have a say in how things play out again.
“What are we going to do?” asked Marianna, trying to keep her voice low, and calm, but I knew that her heart must’ve been beating out of her chest.
“We’re going to go through the back, and if there’s anyone waiting for us, we’ll shoot our way out. Have you ever used a gun, princess?” asked Kir, and Marianna shook her head.
“Well, consider this your first lesson. If you see any bad guys, point, shoot, and keep moving. Got it?” he asked, handing her his gun, and it was an act of loyalty I truly didn’t expect to see. He was putting his trust in the both of us, seeing if we were really worth all of the trouble, and I had to make sure that we all got out of there alive.
“Let’s go.”
