Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 57121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Wesley Grant adjusts his glasses and clears his throat. “The senator is eager to know if there’s anything he can do to make this process smoother for himself,” he murmurs.
“So, you think we just piss our information all over the streets?” Nikolai says from behind him, pacing endlessly.
“Nuh-no,” the man stutters. “Not at all. That’s not what I’m saying.” He smiles tightly, more like a reflex, and throws his hands up. “What am I saying?”
I almost feel bad for him. He isn’t built for situations like this. That’s why the Bratva functions so well in this world. These men are used to weak, terrified men like themselves.
“I’m waiting for that too,” I say flatly.
“We just want to know, uh, if there’s a reason why the nation now knows…” He hesitates.
“Now knows the size and color and shape of your lauded senator’s penis,” Nikolai says, laughing darkly. “And that he’s not shy about shooting it through the ether for all to see.”
Wesley swallows. “Well, yes, exactly…”
I lean forward. “Perhaps your senator should remember that there are fees to be paid in this town. Fees which would have protected him from this sort of thing. Was he paying any fees, Mr. Grant?”
He looks like a chastised schoolboy, shaking his head. “No,” he says quietly.
“And now look what’s happened,” Nikolai snaps. “He might not recover from this.”
“But if he does,” I go on. “Tell him to give us a call. Data kept with us is better than data left in the wild. He should’ve thought of that before he tried to fly solo.”
This is part of the job too. Protection. With our vast resources, we hire the best cybersecurity specialists imaginable to wipe our clients’ histories clean… while saving a small piece for ourselves. It’s ugly work, sure, but still better than what other mafias do.
Once Wesley is gone, Nikolai leaves to handle some business. I’ve got back-to-back meetings with legitimate clients. It’s not like we can just plaster on the door, Volkov Enterprises, Blackmail and Deep Dark Secret Specialists! Our front-facing businesses span a wide range, from security to retail and anything in between.
I check my phone for the tenth time. I feel like a teenager, waiting for his crush to text him first. I’m trying to give Lia some space, but it’s difficult. Ultimately, I text her.
Maksim: When are you next getting a day off? I don’t want you working yourself into the ground.
I feel a huge sense of relief when she texts back an hour later.
Lia: Days off? What are they again?
Maksim: They’re what you take when you’re not at work. You should try it sometime. If money is the issue, all you have to do is say.
Her next reply is even faster.
Lia: Don’t offer me that again. It’s shameful enough that I’m staying at your place rent-free, and that’s only because I’d never be able to afford to pay even a fraction of that. I pay my way. It’s what my mother taught me.
Maksim: I won’t offer again.
I tell her, though it pisses me off. There’s no reason for her to grind herself to dust when I could make a one-time payment into her account and change her entire life.
But I respect that. It’s just difficult knowing how hard she works, especially when I’ve seen it.
Lia: Thank you.
Maksim: If you won’t take time off work, let me give your brain a rest. I’ll come by later.
Lia: Maksim, I don’t know if I’m ready for that.
Maksim: I’m not some animal, beautiful.
Lia: Ha! Really? Could’ve fooled me.
My intercom buzzer goes off.
Maksim: Let me surprise you. Let me treat you.
Lia:
My smile is borderline delirious. The buzzer goes off for a second time.
Maksim: I’m taking that as a yes.
I put my phone in my desk drawer.
“Yes?” I say, pressing the intercom button.
“Mr. Vale is here to see you. But he doesn’t appear to have a meeting.”
“Send him in.”
A few moments later, Conrad Vale walks into the room. He’s a short, wide man with a perpetual sneer on his face. He wears a suit with an American flag pinned to the lapel like a wannabe politician, as if he can’t accept his station in life. On paper, we’re rival businessmen. In reality, I wouldn’t mind leaving him in an unmarked ditch.
The difference between me and this lowlife?
If I find vicious things in the data of our lauded elite, I quietly pass them to the authorities. The real dark stuff. The stuff nightmares are made of. Conrad has no such compulsions.
I smile thinly. “Take a seat, Conrad. What a welcome surprise this is.”
His smile is even thinner as he sits. “I always enjoy dropping by on the competition.”
“Care for something to drink?”
“Thank you, no. I won’t be here long.”
I nod. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I heard you met with Wesley Grant today.”
“That’s correct.”
“I was curious about what he had to say.”