I don’t sit. I stand at the head of the table, observing all their faces as I speak. I’m looking for any dissent in their eyes. Even the slightest discontentment will be addressed right here and now.
“The Pakhan,” I say, “is dead. Maksim Balakin is no longer with us and I have been charged to lead as the new Pakhan. Before we go any further, if any of you has an issue with my new role, now is the time to speak up.”
The room falls silent. Each man either looks around at the others or adjusts his tie or cufflinks. They’re all waiting for the one fool in the room.
“I do not have an objection,” I hear from the left side of the table, “but I do have questions.”
Every eye turns to one of my brigadiers, Lev Andreev. Seated a few seats away from me, he stares up at me through his horn-rimmed glasses and bushy gray eyebrows. He runs the brigade in the south side of town.
“You have questions,” I repeat. “Ask them.”
“You were made Pakhan in Russia,” he says, narrowing his eyes. “How are we to be sure that what you have said is true? Personally, I believe that it was Maksim’s wish for you to run this Bratva. But how are we to know that all the right steps were taken to ensure your claim to his seat? How are we?—”
I don’t give him time to finish. I step around the table and in just a few steps, I’m at his chair and my arm is around his neck. He struggles as I lift him out of his seat, dragging him to the front of the room. He’s smaller than I am, less muscular. He scratches at my forearm as I pull it tight across his windpipe. With a jerk upward, I feel it crunch against my skin. He gurgles and gags, still fighting though no air is entering his body.
I toss him to the floor as he crawls, grabbing at his throat, his mouth open, lips turning blue. I pull my gun out of my holster and aim it at his head, firing once to the temple and putting him out of his misery.
The air is thick with gunpowder as he lies dead and bleeding onto the wood floors. Mikki stands and walks out of the room.He returns with two of the soldiers directly under me to clean up the mess.
I lean against the table as they drag what’s left of Lev out of the room. Mikki gives the men orders at the door, then he returns to his place at my right side.
“Does anyone else have any questions?” I ask. No one speaks. “Good. Now that we are all in complete understanding about this new situation, let’s discuss our first point of business. Avenging my predecessor.”
There are no objections. Everyone is sitting at attention. My reign has begun.
“That was quite the introduction tonight.”It’s the first thing Mikki says as he brings me my drink. We’re sitting in the living room of this house I’ve inherited. Leather couches, a white bearskin rug, a coffee table made almost entirely of glass and a brick fireplace. I’ve been sitting here looking around at the decor, debating whether I’m going to bother changing it even though it’s not really my style.
Mikki sits on the other side of the couch and sips from his own glass. “I knew Lev was shaky. Had a feeling he’d open his big trap tonight.”
“And as usual, you were correct,” I say as I drink. The whiskey tastes good. Smooth and sweet. Just the right thing for a night like tonight.
“Maksim would be proud, Anton,” he says casually. “He always used to say that the best way to let them know who is in charge is to let them know who is in charge.”
We both chuckle. “Out with the trash. The only problem now is that I’m going to have to cover Lev’s territory until we can select someone new. He dealt with the drug trade on the south side, correct?”
Mikki nods. “And pussy. Has a couple of strip joints and was managing the Firebird Club.”
“That’s right.” I used to frequent the Firebird. I’ve slowed down over the last year, though. “Wonder if Magda is still there.”
“She is.” Mikki snickers. “Oldblyadwill probably be there forever.”
I smile the moment I think of Magda. She was a rotund woman with a headful of curly, bright red hair and the biggest breasts I had ever seen when I was a kid. When Mikki and I were teenagers, we dreaded being caught by her. She’d grab us by the ears and drag us out, yelling at us in Fenya,“You want to see tits, go back and suckle on your mother’s!”
“She probably misses me,” I say.
“Then you should pay her a visit. When was the last time you were there?”
I pause, thinking about it. “Probably after Kat and I split up. Spent some time there for about a week before I decided to let it go.”
I’m expecting Mikki to say something crass, but he doesn’t. He just swishes his drink around in the glass as he looks off introspectively. He notices me looking at him and goes, “What?”
“What’s this look about?” I ask him.
He shrugs a little. “It’s been a year since you and Kat. You didn’t meet anybody when you were in Russia?”
“I wasn’t looking. Besides, the women that I tend to attract are either more interested in my status or completely uninteresting.”
He smirks at me. “I don’t see how that’s much of a concern if you’re just fucking them.”
