“I know,” I say. “Nicki was the same. The fact of the matter is that this brotherhood needs new leadership and a reworking of the laws. I don’t want my son to have to wonder if I’ll kill him for breaking the rules.”
“Assuming he’ll want to become Bratva. That is still optional, right?”
I nod. “On paper, anyway. Honestly, Teddy, after all this bullshit, if he never takes the oath, I’d be fine with that.”
“Fair enough,” he says. He takes another sip from his glass, then, “What happens if this doesn’t work?” He waves his drink toward the basket between us. “I know my guys would be pretty pissed if somebody pulled this shit with us.”
“A statement has to be made and it has to hit them like a punch to the throat. I won’t get a second chance to make it clear that I won’t be fucked with. If they don’t get the message, then that’s what the Red Devils are for, right?”
He snickers. “Yeah, well, if nothing else, you’ll definitely be making a statement. Here’s hoping we both walk out of here alive.”
Our conversation is interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle in the distance, coming closer. Teddy sets his drink down on the porch and says, “Sounds like the party’s about to start.”
“Yup,” I say. “Remember. Nobody does shit unless I do it first.”
“Roger that.”
We both get up from the crates we’re sitting on and Teddy walks over to his rifle, which he had leaning against the wall. He stands holding it, waiting for the biker to ride into view.
It doesn’t take long. We see his scouts riding up the road, waving bandanas and signaling the arrival of the remaining army. I hear the click of Teddy’s gun as he cocks it. It’s time to put up or shut up, as they say.
The bikers all park their bikes in front of the stairs. Teddy calls down to them. “How many?”
“I think all of them,” one of the scouts says. “It’s at least ten cars coming up the drive.”
I feel Teddy’s gaze of caution on me, then he says to the scouts, “Get in position.”
They get off their bikes and move toward the edges of the house and wait out of sight. If things go south, they’ll be my first line of defense.
But I trained a lot of these men. They know what I’m capable of and they’ve respected me for all these years. I have every reason to believe this will work.
It had better work, anyway.
It’s only a minute or so after that we start to see the cars round the bend and drive toward the house. It is a virtual army. If Nikolai had had the presence of mind to call everyone in, it would have been tougher to take on this many men.
At this time, I’ve got an army at my back.
The first cars stop short of the drive and they start getting out, all in suits and all holding ARs at their sides. I spot one of the topbrigadiers, Borya. He’s among the first that I’ve trained and over the years, I’ve thought of him as being one of the most reliable. He stares at me with dark eyes, the brow under the stubble of his nearly bald head scarred with deep wrinkles.
“You’re guarding at the door of our Pakhan,” he says in Russian. “Rumor has it that you’ve staged a coup.”
“So I have,” I tell him.
“You know that has to be answered for, Viktor. We cannot allow you to let that stand.”
In English, I say, “I know the law. So did Nikolai. It didn’t stop him from killing his son and trying to kill his daughter.”
He tilts his head. “That’s a dangerous accusation, Brother,” he returns in English. He looks over at Teddy, then glances around the property. The Red Devils are all posted out of sight, but they’re ready. “Where are your friends?”
“You’ll meet them soon enough. When we discuss the terms of my reign as the new Pakhan.”
“You?” he says, narrowing his eyes. “You’re a fine enforcer, Viktor. We should follow you because you say that Nikolai has broken the covenant with his own children?”
“I hope you will do it for that reason. You know me well enough to understand that I wouldn’t go this far without cause. But if that’s not enough for any of you…” I turn to the basket and open it. I reach in and pull the greasy hair of Nikolai’s head and pull it out and toss it at him. The head flies up in an arc, dripping blood on the stairs as it sails through the air and lands with a squishing thud of an overripe melon. Several of the others flinch as the head rolls down the drive, landing in the grass.
Borya walks over to it and nudges it with his foot, perhaps verifying that it did belong once to Nikolai. “Shit,” he swears in Russian.
“This coup is a just one,” I say. “Those of you willing to know the truth can sit at my table. The rest of you can feel my wrath. It’s your choice.”
And there it is, laid out in the only way that any of them could understand. No one speaks, but I see the question in their eyes as they glance at one another and wait for Borya to react. He looks up at me and clenches his jaw.
“The king is dead,” he says as he throws down his gun. “Long live the king.”
And the others all follow suit, throwing down their weapons onto the path and in the grass. Teddy lets out a big sigh and says, “The hard part is over, Your Majesty.”
I smirk at him. I suppose he’s right. The rest will be cake after everything I’ve been through. Never ran a Bratva before and never had any prospect to do so. But it’s a duty that I’ll serve. For myself, for Tati, and for my family.
I am the new king, and I mean to be a better one than Nikolai ever was.
