Chapter Four
Adam
I wanted to exchange contact information with Abel before I left the diner, but then Vladimir’s goons showed up to collect me. I wanted to get them as far away from Abel as I could and fast.
Contacting Abel will involve me calling him at work because I didn’t get his cell number. The goons saw me talking to him and having his information on my phone could be dangerous for Abel. The last thing I want is for him to end up in a cell, waiting for me to complete this job. Hopefully Vladimir wouldn’t be that stupid because I need him to get close to Tom, but you never know.
The black SUV is waiting for me outside the diner. The Russian mafia is nothing if not completely cliché. At least Thing One and Thing Two don’t sit in the back with me in the middle. One of them drives and one sits in the third-row seats. It would be almost comical having him squished back there if it wasn’t for the gun I know he’s holding to my back.
“You know, you guys don’t have to come get me every time Vladimir wants to talk. You could just call. You’re holding my sister. It’s not like I’m going to ignore you,” I say, trying to relieve some of my nervousness.
“You don’t like the way we do things, you take it up with the boss. See how far that gets you,” Thing One says in a thick Russian accent, and then laughs.
The rest of the ride to Vladimir Mikhailov’s mansion is silent. When we arrive, the goons usher me inside.
Vladimir is waiting in his mansion’s rec room when we arrive. He’s sitting at his black lacquer bar, drinking a vodka and watching two young women in very short skirts play ping pong.
“Ah, just the man I wanted to see!” He’s pretty tipsy but that doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous.
“Vladimir, what can I do for you?” I try to suppress my anger.
I can feel it boiling under the surface, watching him having fun while my sister is under the house in a dark holding cell. I have to keep it together, though. Losing my temper will only hurt Sophie.
“I want an update on our little project. I hope it’s good news. I’d hate to have to give you some incentive to try harder,” he says in a barely perceptible Russian accent. Vladimir has been in the country for a lot longer than his goons, but you can still pick up a hint of his accent.
“I don’t have the drive yet, Mr. Mikhailov, but I’ve got Tom Hunt’s personal assistant working with me now,” I say in a voice that disguises the rage that tastes like bile in my throat.
“That news is okay. I was hoping for better. Your sister was hoping for better, Adam. How do you know you can trust this assistant? You realize the cost if you make a mistake?”
“I do, and I know I can trust him. He didn’t say so, but this Tom character has hurt him. Abel wants revenge, even if he hasn’t admitted it yet.” I wince when I realize I’ve said his name. I’m sure Vladimir already knows who he is, but I want to draw as little attention to him as possible. I have to save Sophie but I don’t want to sacrifice Abel to do it.
“You’re going to have to speed things up. I’ve received information that indicates that Mr. Hunt is in negotiations with the Italians and the Chinese. If one of them meets his price before you steal the information, it’s lights out for you and your sister. Do you understand?”
“I do. I’ve made progress, Mr. Mikhailov. How is Sophie? Is she getting her medicine? Can I see her? Just for a minute. Please.” I hate begging any man for anything but I know it will help Sophie to see me. I will plead at this man’s feet if I can make her feel better.
“I’ll give you two minutes,” he says, and I breathe a heavy sigh of relief. “Take him down to see the girl. Stay close,” he says to Thing Two standing behind me.
Sophie has a congenital heart defect. She’s been very sick since she was a little girl. Our parents died when I was eight and Sophie was just a toddler. We had no family that would take us in so we ended up in foster care.
Sophie saved me, though. Since she had serious medical problems, she went into the Catholic foster care system instead of the state system. The Church was better equipped to pay for her treatment, and they found a family that was willing to take care of her.
They also believed in keeping families together so I got to stay with her. That kept me out of the state system too. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I’d gone into state foster care or a group home. I wouldn’t be the man I am today. Yeah, I’m a criminal, but I feel terrible about it. The Morgans, our foster parents, raised us right.
Sadly, they were a much older couple than typically take on foster children and they had both passed by the time I was sixteen. It was devastating for Sophie and me, but what was even more disturbing was the Catholic foster care system was drastically reducing its cases and we were going to be transferred to state care.
Our first day at our new foster home was enough to let me know it wasn’t going to work out. I had some money saved up from doing odd jobs and the Morgans paid me well to do work for them too. Sophie and I didn’t spend one night in the new place.
I can’t remember their names but the wife almost hit Sophie on our first day there. The husband was a drunk pervert, so we ran. I got a job and enrolled Sophie in school under a fake name. She’d end up having to get her GED under her real name once we were in the clear, but at least she got an education.
I worked at a garage changing oil and tires, and after a couple of years, the owner, Dave, even trained me to do more. Sophie and I always had enough to eat, and I made enough to cover her medications. She saw a doctor at a neighborhood clinic that treated homeless people and illegal aliens so they never asked us questions. It was good treatment at a price I could afford. They saved my sister a lot of pain and anguish.
Then one day the garage burned down and I was out of a job. I tried to find another one but nobody would hire me. Dave had paid me cash under the table and never asked questions either. He was an ex-con who’d turned his life around, and he knew the value of a secret. Unfortunately, I think it was a pissed off bookie who burned his shop, so he took off for California the minute the fire was out.
That left me with a little sister to care for and not many options. We could have gone back, but I was afraid of what would happen to Sophie in a foster family. I also knew I’d probably go to jail for kidnapping since I’d turned eighteen.
That’s when a guy in our building introduced me to Vladimir Mikhailov, and I made the biggest mistake of my life. I converted to a life of crime and told myself it was for Sophie.
For a time, Vladimir kept us clothed, fed, and made sure Sophie saw the best doctor the mafia could buy. I could never become a made man because I wasn’t born into the family, but I rose as high in the ranks as possible. I was the best thief on Vlad’s payroll.
Then, I couldn’t take it anymore and we fled to California. I eventually got a job as a stuntman. The money was good and we were out of the mafia’s shadow. One day it all came crashing down when I got hurt on set. When I finally got out of the hospital, I couldn’t work anymore. A minor brain injury affects my balance sometimes. I learned how to work around it but nobody will insure me so movie studios won’t hire me.
I had to come crawling back to Vladimir. He pretended all was forgiven and let me make a little money before destroying my life.
After coming home from a burglary at a mansion in the northern suburbs, I found my sister gone. A note on her bed told me to come to Vladimir’s place. That’s when he told me I had to steal Tom Hunt’s account information to get Sophie back.
Now as I walk down the damp, gray hallway to the holding cell she’s being kept in, I regret almost every decision I’ve made since the Morgans died. There had to have been a way to protect and care for Sophie that didn’t require me getting into bed with the mafia. I was young, stupid, and in over my head, but I tried.
“Adam!” Sophie yells and rushes over to the bars.
“Can you open the door so I can hug her?” I ask, knowing the goon is going to say no.
“No. Two minutes,” he says in his thick, and barely understandable, Russian accent.
“Adam, I love you,” she gushes, and I put my hands over hers.
“I love you too, baby sister,” I say . “Are you okay? Do they give you your medicine?”
“They do. I get food three times a day too. It’s not so bad. As long as I cooperate, they bring me down a plate of whatever Mr. Mikhailov and his guests are having. One of the men watching me brought me some books to read. If it weren’t for the dark, dank basement prison and the fact that I’m being held hostage, this wouldn’t be a bad vacation,” she says and smiles.
That’s Sophie for you. She’s always looked on the bright side of things. My baby sister is the only thing that’s kept me going when life got dark.
“I’ll get you out of here. I’ve found someone to help me so it should be soon. He’s Tom Hunt’s assistant, and I know he’s got the information I need.”
“Oh, an Omega perhaps? Is he nice? Is he attractive?” Sophie asks hopefully.
“Sis, seriously? You’re being held hostage by the Russian mob, and you’re worried about my love life?” Sophie is too much sometimes.
“Like you have a love life,” she says and rolls her eyes playfully.
“Times up,” the goon says from behind me.
“I’ll be back for you soon,” I say and squeeze her hands.
“Girl will be all right,” the big man says and winks at Sophie. I’m surprised when she winks back at him.
I guess I know who brought her the books and the decent food, and I’m a little less terrified for her when the realization hits that she’s got someone inside looking out for her.
I should have known someone would be kind to her. Sophie brings out the best in everyone. So, of course, if one person were working for Vlad who has a soul, Sophie would find them.
“Hang in there, little bit,” I say as her big, scary-looking protector ushers me out.
“Must follow the rules or they take me off little bit’s guard detail,” he says, and I understand he’s apologizing for not letting me in to hug her.
“I understand. Thank you.”