Niko stuffed the last of the clothes into the backpack, placing Roman’s things on top of her own, before pulling the toggles to close it up.
In twenty-four hours they’d be climbing into one of the trucks and heading out on the long journey across Europe. If they were lucky the weather would be a bit cooler than it had been on the last trip, or they’d all be having an even more miserable time.
The last time they’d made this trip in the warm weather, the temperature in the trucks has soared up over a hundred degrees, and if it hadn’t been for Niko’s insistence that they stop regularly to make sure everyone took on plenty of water, there had been a distinct possibility that their entire cargo could have died in the backs of the overheated trucks.
At least this time the trucks had been fitted with cooling units, so the women in the back shouldn’t suffer too badly in the heat.
“Mama, can I take my bears with me?” Roman stood in the doorway dragging at least four of his biggest teddy bears.
Niko smiled at her son. He hadn’t yet experienced the reality of travelling in the cab of a truck yet, and she doubted it would take more than an hour or two for the novelty to wear off. The truck they would be travelling in had a little room behind the driver’s seat, with a bed and enough space to have a meal. That would be where they would spend a lot of time over the next week, and she just hoped that her son didn’t have a problem with small spaces. It was going to be a very snug fit.
“Maybe pick two big ones, or four small ones, baby. There’s only so much space, and we don’t want your teddy bears to take it all and leave us nowhere to sleep.” She ruffled her son’s curls.
Niko watched Roman line up his bears and smiled. He’d started with the biggest at one end, working down to the smallest at the other. Her son was smart, and she knew he was trying to figure out what his options were.
“Which ones are the big ones, and which are the small ones, mama?” He turned around with a frown.
Niko pointed at Roman’s favourite bear.
“That one is the first of the small ones, baby. Anything bigger than that is a big one.” She clarified, knowing he would take that one no matter what.
Later this afternoon she would bag up all the stuff they were leaving behind and take it to the storage locker she rented in Ankara.
The problem with living the nomadic life that her brother’s business dictated, was that so often they had to leave belongings behind in apartments they never ended up returning to. She had lost some of her most cherished possessions throughout the years, to the point where she no longer left behind anything important to her.
If it had any sentimental or financial value, then it had to be small enough to fit in her backpack. The rest of her stuff went into a locker at a storage facility, and she had three of those in different cities across Europe and Russia.
Not that any of it was particularly valuable, it was just some of her clothing and Roman’s toys. She’d stopped storing Roman’s clothes a while ago, because when they might be away for three or four months at a time, it rarely still fit him when they got back.
That meant she had to keep the number of clothes she bought him to a minimum, as they had to fit into her pack with her own clothes.
Niko was like any other mother, wanting to spoil her son any way she could, but on the little bit of money her brother gave her, treats were few, and what little they had, she tried to look after.
One day, maybe, she would be able to give Roman everything he wanted, Niko prayed, but that day wasn’t just yet. Luckily for her, Roman wasn’t at an age where he could tell the difference between a regular store and a thrift store. As long as the clothes and toys were clean, he couldn’t tell that they weren’t brand new.
“Here you are, mama. These are the ones I want to take.” Roman handed her two large bears and two small ones, the look of innocence on his face almost comical.
“Are you sure these are all the small ones, baby? They look pretty big to me.” She smiled down at him.
“I’m sure they’re all small.” He nodded. “I packed the others in the bag already, but I can get them back out if you want to check.”
Sneaky little thing!
“No, that’s Ok, baby.” She grinned. “Now, come on, get ready. I have to go and check on the trucks for Uncle Ilya, which means you’ll have to stay with Vanya for an hour or two.”
“Ok.” Roman dropped to his knees and started looking under the bed for his shoes.
“Lost something?” She held up his shoes, and he scrambled to his feet.
Niko crouched down to help Roman slip them on.
“Right. Shall we...?”
“NIKO! Where the fuck are you?” Ilya’s voice startled her so much she fell backwards onto her backside, making Roman giggle.
Her brother stomped around the corner as she tried to get up.
“Where the fuck have you been hiding?” He demanded.
“Ilya! Stop that swearing in front of Roman.” She tried to hide her fear behind a scolding but doubted it would have any effect. “You know I don’t like him to hear those words.”
“Sister, he’s gonna hear a lot worse than that before he’s grown.” Ilya sneered. “Might as well start him off young.”
“Ilya, I mean it.” She scowled at her older brother. “You would never have been caught swearing like that in front of our parents when I was young. At least show us the same respect you showed them.”
Ilya opened his mouth to say something cutting, Niko was certain, but then he stopped. Maybe his memories of mama and papa had softened his black heart, even if only for a few seconds.
“You know, there’s an easy way to stop Roman hearing all the bad language around him.” He flopped down onto the old threadbare sofa. “Two words… Can you guess?”
“Ear-plugs?” Niko suggested.
“Nope.” Ilya chuckled. “I was thinking of ‘boarding school’. Send him off when he turns four, get him back when he’s past eighteen. Simple solution.”
Niko’s blood turned cold at the thought that Ilya might take her son away from her. He obviously didn’t have a heart after all, and probably wouldn’t see how a mother could very possibly pine to death at the loss of her child.
“Don’t even think about it.” She growled, the sound uncharacteristically fierce. “He’s my son and he’s staying with me until he’s at least thirty if I have my way.”
“You’ll turn him into a mama’s boy with no balls to call his own.” Ilya pointed at Roman. “He needs a man’s firm hand if he’s not going to grow up to be a pussy.”
“He would have had a father if Vasili hadn’t mysteriously disappeared, wouldn’t he?” She snapped. “And anyway, he’s my son and any decisions about his upbringing will be made by me, alone.”
Ilya smiled at her, because they both knew she was talking shit. Ilya controlled everything, and nobody challenged him. Not even his baby sister.
“Ok, before you go into a girlie sulk and make me lose what’s left of my temper with you, I need to talk to you about the men from the auctioneers.” Ilya pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and was about to take one out when he saw Niko glare at him.
Smoking in front of Roman was another no-no.
He shook his head in fake annoyance but slid the packet back into his shirt pocket.
“What time are they getting in tomorrow?” He asked.
“I haven’t had the final times yet, but the last message said late morning, whatever that means.” She shrugged. “Why? Is there a problem?”
“What is the likelihood that one of them can drive a truck?” Ilya asked, and Niko was almost afraid to ask why. At this late stage she didn’t want any changes to their schedule or their personnel.
“No idea.” She admitted. “I can find out later this evening. Why do we need another driver?”
“Not ‘another’ driver.” Ilya corrected. “A ‘replacement’ driver. Omer was stabbed last night after cleaning up in a poker game at the casino. Some argument about cheating. He’s in the hospital, and it’s touch and go whether he’ll pull through.”
“Sh… oot!” Niko grimaced.
Omer had been her driver for the last few trips, and he was about the nicest of Ilya’s men. He had his own family, which was why he was always trying to make extra money, he loved kids, and most importantly, stood guard over Niko like she was his own kid sister, keeping Ilya’s other men away from her.
Without him around she would feel more than a little exposed.
“I’ll check in with the auctioneer later and let you know.” She nodded. “I’m going to take the Audi this afternoon, to go and put the rest of our stuff back in storage.”
“I have work for you this afternoon.” Ilya shook his head. “You’ll be busy.”
“It’ll take me half an hour, Ilya.” Niko pointed out. “I want to make sure I don’t lose all our stuff again if we don’t get back here soon. We have precious little as it is. I can’t afford to replace it all.”
“Complaining again, baby sister?” Ilya growled.
“Just stating a fact.” Niko didn’t want to push him too hard. Her brother had a temper that was legendary. “Now, if you don’t need me for anything else, I’ll get our stuff into storage, and meet you at the warehouse once I’ve dropped Roman at Vanya’s place.”
“She’s good with the boy, no?” Ilya laughed, obviously remembering Niko’s original protests against the woman.
“She managed to feed him without poisoning him, and then played a card game with him for an hour.” Niko pointed out. “That easily surpassed all my expectations, but we’ll do this in small steps. Today she can look after him for two hours, but that’s enough.”
“Then you’d better finish the planning in time.” Ilya stood up. “If anything goes wrong with this trip, it’s on you.”
He didn’t wait for her response, and she didn’t expect him to.
Ilya wasn’t great at planning, and she’d been taking on most of the responsibility for a few years now. Everything had been done that needed to be done, so she wasn’t worried that she had missed anything.
As to whether anything would go wrong, that was entirely another matter.
They were trafficking more than a hundred women two thousand miles across at least seven separate countries. What the hell could go wrong?