“You’re not doing this by yourself.” Oleg wasn’t a man to speak up about every issue, only the ones he thought were truly important.
“I don’t want to pull you all into this shit storm. I’m the one who fucked up. I should have known a witness had gotten away.” Bazarnik shook his head, still in disbelief at how things could have gone so far off track.
“With all the chaos that was going on, anybody could have missed it.” Oleg wasn’t one to stroke a man’s wounded ego, he was only stating his objective take on the situation. No one could have predicted that someone would escape before the explosion. And Oleg wasn’t entirely convinced the mystery woman was part of the Sinaloan cartel.
For starters, she didn’t have the typical gangbanger look that one usually saw with the Sinaloan groupie types. They usually managed their hair and makeup in a trashy, overdone way that shouted to the world that they belonged to the cartel. From what little they could discern from Bazarnik’s video, this girl didn’t look like she was part of anything at all.
Bazarnik couldn’t help but wonder if his fixation with the fire had distracted him so that he missed such an important detail, made such an important mistake. This lifestyle didn’t allow for mistakes and neither did the Pakhan. Depending on how this turned out, Bazarnik knew he risked a brutal ass whipping, if not death. He tried to push those thoughts from his mind. The best he could hope for was to find this girl and interrogate her.
Why the fuck did this have to happen on my first job?
Oleg’s voice was smooth and level as he spoke. “There’s strength in numbers. We’ve got your back on this.”
Although Bazarnik was glad the crazy bastard had his back, it still didn’t ensure that the Pakhan and his psycho cousin would feel the same way. One thing about organized crime was that you never knew when the boss might want to make an example of you to the rest of the crew.
“Yeah, well,” Bazarnik muttered, “let’s just hope the Pakhan is as understanding as you four are.”
Roksana chuckled, going for a little levity. “This won’t be the first time one of us has fucked up and the others had to come to their defense. Consider yourself part of the team now—officially.”
“So, you have to fuck up to be part of the cool kids’ club huh? Good to know.” For the first time since all this had happened, Bazarnik smiled.
As the cool metal moved in a steady rhythm between his fingertips, Novak took note of the fact that he was using his Russian coin to buy himself time to consider what he wanted to say. There really was a first time for everything.
“For fuck’s sake, spit it out, Novak. What have they done now?”
“Well, fuck. How’d you know?”
“You are the one who’s always laughing about the Bratva gods; I like to think I have a direct line on occasion. In all seriousness, we have been around each other since we were kids. You are closer to me than a brother; I can read you. Now, tell me what is going on so we can fix it.”
Novak slipped the coin into his pocket, took a deep breath, and regarded his cousin for a long moment, then said grimly, “There’s a witness.”
The sound of Glazov’s fist hitting the desk reverberated around the room like a thunderclap. “Son of a bitch!” he roared.
“Bazarnik caught it on video that night, somebody was running from the building. A woman.”
“This job was a necessary evil, as far as I’m concerned,” Glazov fumed. “I didn’t like doing it. When we make a move like that, we are meticulous in controlling who gets targeted. How in the hell did anyone get out alive?” He didn’t give him any time to answer as he seethed, “Damn it. Motherfucker!”
“There is some good news. The woman in question dropped her phone. Dmitriy’s hacking the device as we speak. Do you want to put a hit on her?”
“Not until we find out what she knows.” A knock on the door caused them to both look up. “Enter!” Glazov settled back in his chair as Bazarnik walked in.
“What, boy?” Glazov barked out irritably.
“Pardon the interruption, sir.” He looked from Glazov to Novak and his shoulders dropped on a deep exhale. Shit. He was too late. “I wanted you to hear this from me,” he stammered, then glanced at Novak.
“Hey, asshole, you’ve got balls of steel coming in here to look the Pakhan in the eye to tell him you fucked up,” Novak said, approaching Bazarnik and standing deliberately in his personal space. Novak poked him in the chest and grinned because he could practically see Bazarnik’s hackles rise. “But you’re my job. Keeping an eye on you is what I do. You got a fucking problem with that? You should have known damn good and well I’d know what was going on.”
Bazarnik didn’t back down but looked Novak straight in the eye. “Like I said, I wanted to be the one to tell him.”
“Manning up and telling the Pakhan, face to face, that you fucked up…now, that I respect.” Novak returned to his seat.
“I have to agree with my cousin,” the Pakhan stated quietly. “I respect your coming to me instead of trying to hide behind my daughter and her husband. There are some things you can’t put a price on; loyalty and honesty are two of those things. It’s true that you fucked up, but I’m not so sure this isn’t a good thing.”
Bazarnik looked up from the area he’d been studying on the carpet, frowning as he tried to keep up with the course of this conversation.
Glazov clarified, “This mistake was an opportunity for me to see what you’re made of—I like what I see, Bazarnik. Now, go find this woman and bring her back here. Lock her ass in the dungeon and find out what she knows. We’ll decide how to deal with her after that.”
“Yes, sir. And, sir…thank you.”
Glazov waved him off with a dismissive flick of his wrist. He had what he needed, and that was the confidence to know the kids would deal with it in an effective way—one he would be proud of. He wasn’t going to be around forever; they needed to be able to carry on the Bratva legacy when he wasn’t there to look over their shoulder.
Yes…it was time for the kids to put into practice the lessons he’d spent a lifetime teaching them. He would systematically loosen the reins. When they needed him he would be there, but it was time to see if they’d been paying attention.
Bazarnik waited until he was down the hall and out of earshot before he breathed a sigh of relief. He’d done the right thing by facing the Pakhan. But even as he had looked into those icy blue eyes, the voice in his head had been telling him he was crazy. He didn’t need an inner voice to reveal that truth to him; he already knew it.