Chapter Ten: Marianna
Rurik took my hand in his, leading me through the back corridor, cutting through the kitchen on the way out when we heard the blood-curdling screams fill the diner. Gunshots were flying, and I heard the sound of crashing dishes behind me while I held onto the gun that Kir had given me, hoping I wouldn’t have to use it. I watched as the two of them pushed forward, and Rurik lifted the gun from the holster at his back, getting ready to use it on any incoming enemies, but I was so flustered and afraid that I was going to freeze, I just couldn’t keep up. I stopped for a moment, peering out the little square window in the back door, looking at the crowd of men with their guns pointed directly at us, wondering how we were going to make it out this time.
“Do you two have any other bright ideas as to how we’re going to get out of here? Look! We’re surrounded,” I said, but they were already one step ahead of me, and I watched Rurik place his hand on the doorknob, getting ready to open it up, hoping that we’d all be able to dodge the gunfire.
“Remember what Kir said, point and shoot,” Rurik reminded me, and I thought they were both absolutely insane to be heading out like this when the probability of us actually making it out was slim.
“Are you crazy?” I asked, but by the time the words left my lips it was far too late. The door swung open and the gunshots started to ring high in the air, directly at us, while I couldn’t help but stagger back at the sound of each one. I took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to shoot the gun in my hands without hurting myself, but I cocked it back, pointing it at the men in front of me, and I managed to get a few shots in. I watched the blood spew out of the wounds I inflicted while Rurik managed to down the ones that had been directly in front of us, and he grabbed me by the arm, dragging me out so we could find our way to a car.
“Don’t stop now, Marianna. You’re on a roll,” Kir chimed in, as he hid behind Rurik carefully, as he’d given me his only weapon.He has a very interesting way of teaching people lessons. Fuck.I thought, rushing through while the chaos continued, and I fired off shots into the shoulders of the men who were eager to hurt me. I still had yet to figure out if they had any connection to the Andreyev Family or if this was another situation where my name had been added to a hit list it shouldn’t be on. I was surprised to see just how fast news traveled around the crime world, and it made me think that there were a lot more people either indebted to the Andreyevs or afraid of them than I initially thought. I had to keep an eye out, make sure we didn’t face any more surprises, because I was quite sure I was coming up on the edge of my limit.
I didn’t want to break now, not when I was getting closer to finding out the truth about what the Andreyev Family really got up to and why everyone seemed to be so afraid of them. I was starting to grow angrier by the minute, sharing in Rurik’s hatred for what they were doing, and the lengths they’d go to in order to protect their precious empire. I didn’t have any part of what they had, but I still wanted to take it away from them so that they could suffer the same way I did the minute my entire life went up in flames. They took my happiness away, they kidnapped my best friend, and now they were gearing up to do everything possible to make sure I never walked through their mansion doors. It got me thinking about just how quickly everyone seemed to learn about my existence, when I’d truly never faced anything like this in my entire life.
Is it possible that they leaked the news of my existence themselves? Would it be possible that they’re toying with us all, pretending to want me back just so they could drive their very own enemies to kill me? That’s the kind sick and twisted manipulation Kir had been talking about, and I’d certainly say I wouldn’t be surprised. I have to keep going, I have to keep trying because Larissa’s life depends on it, and I refuse to let her down.
I looked out to see Kir rushing towards a dingy old truck, breaking the window open so he could unlock it, sliding into the driver’s seat, fiddling with the wires underneath hoping that he could get it to start. I’d never seen anything like it, watching someone work so quickly to get out of being shot at, but now that I turned to look back, I saw that most of the enemies that had been trying to take us out were dead. They were laying on the ground behind the small diner, in pools of their own blood, with their weapons scattered everywhere. Rurik fired off the final shot right into the heart of the man that seemed to be orchestrating this little mission, and he lowered his gun when he realized we were no longer in immediate danger.
“W-what now?” I asked, completely confused as to how things could just be over so soon, when just a few seconds ago we were wondering whether we were even going to make it out of the parking lot alive.
“Now, we’re going to search every body we can, taking their weapons, and anything else on them that will be useful. It’s not the preferred method of trying to stock up on things, but it’s an efficient one. If you don’t want to do this, I’ll understand, Marianna. You can wait in the truck,” said Rurik, glancing back at the carnage he left in his wake, but he didn’t look the slightest bit fazed. I guessed that he’d been through this sort of thing before, and I wanted to ask him right then how long it actually took before it didn’t seem to be such a shock anymore, but I decided against it. Instead, I joined him as we towered over each body, bending down to search pockets, pulling out cell phones, guns, and any other small weapons that they may have been hiding on them.
We pocketed the cash that was in their wallets, taking their identification in case the people who sent them came looking, or if the police beat them to it. It was then I realized that I was supposed to feel sicker about the whole thing, about killing all of those men in cold blood, even if it was to protect myself. I was supposed to feel bad for hurting them, or at least feel something at all, but I couldn’t seem to allow such feelings to surface. It was then I felt a slight pang in my chest, the worry that I was going down a path that would change me forever. I couldn’t have imagined that I would’ve ended up here, that I would be questioning everything that I’d come to learn about right or wrong, now that I was in the company of wanted criminals.
It was then I realized that I wasn’t so different from them after all, because me simply being there, participating in all of that, meant that I shared in the act as well. I grew up thinking that all criminals were bad, they all did unspeakable things that could never be forgiven, and now I realized that there was more to the story, because in such a short amount of time I’d become one myself. I was no longer just a therapist, living a seemingly normal life trying to uncover the truth about my birth parents. Now, I was a mafia family’s biological daughter, and fair game for anyone that would come looking for me. It was evident that I still had so much more to learn, so much more to take in about what this all really means, but if there’s one thing that I was ashamed to admit to myself, it was that I enjoyed it.
I enjoyed having all that power at my disposal, being able to stand up for myself, fight back when just recently I only believed that I had to follow suit behind the people that were supposed to be protecting me. That was why Kir had given me the gun in the first place, because he wanted me to experience the same thing that they all did every single day of their lives. He would’ve been able to tell by my reaction how I’d be able to fare going forward, and judging from the look on his face, he was truly quite pleased. We gathered all that we could, and I piled it all into the snug backseat while I slid in, shutting the door behind me. Rurik and Kir took the front seats, while Rurik sat behind the wheel, pulling out of the parking lot the minute that we heard the police sirens start to go off. It was evident then that we barely escaped before things truly got ugly, but even I was shocked at my performance.
I’d been so afraid to fail those around me, to fail myself that I couldn’t even imagine that I’d want to be a part of something like this. Since this all began, I’ve only been taking part because I wanted to get Larissa back, but I was starting to see that I had to be more honest with myself. The truth was that I felt like I belonged here, like I understood more of what I saw around me today than anything else I’d experience in the last few years of my life. It was as if I’d discovered a part of myself that had been waiting to burst open all along, waiting for me to see that I was genuinely capable of so much more, but I’d shut it off because I was afraid of who it was going to make me become. Now, I wanted to delve in deeper, to see who that woman truly is, and if I wanted to be her. Things were only going to get more difficult from here on out, because I could see that the more time we spent out in the open meant that we were going to be watched, followed, and there were going to be countless people out there that would want to kill us.
I was surprised to find that I wasn’t quite so scared anymore, and I wondered if it was because of the adrenaline that was coursing through my veins, or if it was because I finally found a place where I felt like I belonged. I liked the power, I liked being in control, and I wasn’t ready to give that up just yet. I was starting to see why Rurik had been so adamant on getting everything ready and having some time to practice before he made his move on taking out the Andreyev Family once and for all. He wanted to be ready, he wanted to make sure that nothing was going to stand in his way when the time came, and I had to commend him for that. He wasn’t acting solely on impulse, and if there was a person to do that, it should’ve been him after everything they put him through. I was starting to see how strong and incredibly driven he was, and it only made me more attracted to him.
It was bad enough that I had to use every ounce of my energy not to think about the time we spent together that night in a stranger’s apartment, but now I longed for it to happen again. I felt like I was finally coming into my own, and I pictured how Rurik was taking all of this, seeing me act out in a way I never had before, because he’s seen me scared, and he thought he knew how I’d react. He saw the look in my eyes the first time he told me who he truly was and what he was sent to do, and that has all melted away to reveal something that I never thought would’ve been possible. I wanted to trust him, I wanted to trust them both, because I knew that they were teaching me a valuable lesson about what it’s like trying to survive when you always have a target on your back.I’m ready to learn. Whatever it’s going to take to finish this. I’m ready to begin.
Rurik droveus off for what felt like hours, and I kept my gaze on the city that was disappearing behind us. We were enclosed in trees that towered over the roof of the truck as he took us deeper into the forest, and I knew that if it were any other time in my life I would’ve probably been afraid to be alone in such a place, but I was surprised to see just how calm it made me. It was nice to put some distance between me and the chaos that ensued earlier. I was going to have to get used to that amount of danger, because I could see it following me around for the rest of my life, and there truly wasn’t anything I was going to be able to do about it. This wasn’t something that was going to end the moment the Andreyev Family paid for all the trouble they’ve caused and everything they’ve put Rurik and me through. I had a feeling that this was going to follow me for a very long time afterwards, and I had to ask myself if I was genuinely ready to deal with that.
I could catch Rurik’s eyes in the rearview mirror checking up on me, and I rested my head on the seat, trying to stay alert, while we were enveloped in darkness as night finally began to approach. I was coming down from the high of everything we’d experienced, and how scared I’d been for such a long time. It was strange to be so unperturbed by everything that was happening around me, and I was waiting patiently for the numbness to subside, for the guilt of what I’ve done to come creeping back in, but it never did. It was the first time in a while that I truly felt fine, and I didn’t want to let go of that. I shut my eyes for a few moments, with the flashes of what we experienced at the diner flooding back into my memory, as I returned to the feeling of power I had when Kir’s gun was in my hand. Any time I started to feel scared again, I knew I can go back there, remembering that I always had a chance to protect myself, I just had to take it.
Rurik pulled up in front of a small abandoned cabin that was dark, lonely, and cold. I got out of the car with Kir, as he led us to the front door, pulling out a pair of keys from his pocket, unlocking the door for us. He glanced back at Rurik, as though there was a part of him that wasn’t aware Rurik knew that this place existed, because for the whole way down, he didn’t seem too surprised until Rurik took the final turn down the path that led us here.
“What is this place?” I asked, turning my attention to Rurik.
“This is where my father and I used to come when I was a boy. He would bring me here to get away from my mother when they were fighting again, and it was the only place I’ve ever felt true calm. I wasn’t aware that the entire Volkov Family knew where this cabin was, but apparently I was wrong,” said Kir, and Rurik shook his head.
“It was the first place I thought of when I was looking for an escape. I was surprised you didn’t catch on earlier, Kir. Now, can we talk about who those people were back there?” asked Rurik, and Kir nodded.
“You and I both know they were far too many of them with far too expensive weapons to be just a few people looking to get in on the fun,” said Kir.
“Did the Andreyevs send them? Do they finally know that you’re not planning on killing me after all?” I asked, and Rurik nodded.
“We have our work cut out for us, but it’s too late for us to do anything else tonight. I’d say make yourselves at home, but Rurik has already taken that upon himself. I’ll take the master, and you two can fight over the guest bedroom. The couch looks dusty, Rurik,” said Kir, eyeing the couch with the pale white covering over it, which didn’t look like a comfortable place to sleep for either of us, but I was willing to take it. Kir went off into the master bedroom, locking himself away for the night, and I made my way over to the couch to take the covering off, but Rurik stopped me.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m getting ready to go to sleep, because after the day I’ve had, I’m not sure I can do anything else until I get some rest. Please, take the bedroom,” I said, trying to usher him towards the guest bedroom, but he wasn’t having any of it.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Marianna. You’re sleeping in there, and I’ll stay here,” he said, but I couldn’t just leave him be. There was something that was clearly on his mind, something that had been bothering him ever since we left the diner, but I wasn’t sure if it was my place to pry. I ventured off into the kitchen that was right off the living room, opening up the fridge to see that there wasn’t anything in there but a few old beers. I grabbed two, handing one to Rurik while I sat in the armchair across from the couch. I stared at him, watching while he cracked open his cold one, trying to enjoy it even though we both weren’t sure just how old they really were.
“What’s bothering you? You’ve been in a mood ever since we left the diner,” I said, pointing out how distant he’d been because I truly couldn’t understand it. We’d made it out alive, we had our start to enact our revenge on the Andreyev Family and Kir had agreed to help us. I couldn’t see anything wrong with this situation, and I truly viewed today as a win.It has to be something else that’s clouding his mind, but what could it be? Is it me?
