The Baker And The Queen Pin

Chapter 36: The Newest Member

~~~Maria

I sit in the nightclub with all the music blaring, I had been feeling different ever since I killed him. I dreamed of the day I would do it, I wanted to do it for so damned long and I did it. I put him down, I killed my father. I take a deep sigh and I think about everything that's happened. I cried, wailed, and moaned in my new hotel room, I felt like everything changed at that moment. As the techno music blares even louder, I think about what I did, I think about how it was so easy to do and then I think to myself, so that's probably why it was so easy for him, that's why it was so easy for him to strike, so easy for him to kill my mother.

It was easy because once he perceived her as a betrayal, he didn't care about the repercussions. He didn't have to care, he'd already won and he already got away with murder. I knock back another shot as a young man begins to sit at the table. His face was sheepish and his eyes showed a bit of awkwardness almost like my Booker. I finished my drink I then said to him, "What do you want?" He smiles as he says, 'It's nice to meet you, Miss Maria,' He was unusually happy and then it dawned on me. Two female bodyguards were standing next to him and then his awkward demeanor disappeared into a sleazy demeanor.

I then said, "Hey, how are you?" He then smiles as he says, 'I'm great. It seems like you're early and I'm on time. That means the rest must be late,' "That seems about right," I say to him. "Anyway, I'd like to welcome you to High Table,' he says. I look at him and say, "Is there anything else you have to say to me?" He then said, 'Straight to the point, I like that. Natalia and Anastasia, would you do me a favor and wait in the car?" He said in an elegant voice but maybe I could see it on his face. He was a sleaze ball, I wouldn't be surprised if he paid them both to fuck. 'Maria, you have a bright future at the High Table. Your father was unambitious and made a lot of mistakes. I'm glad to see that he's gone so what will you do now that he's gone?'

I take a deep sigh as I was already annoyed. "I would like to break the silence,' It's then that a waitress comes up to me, 'Your order please?' she says in Russian. I smile as I say, "Vodka," He looks at me and he was upset for a moment but then he composed himself. It's then that he says, 'All I'm saying Miss Maria is that you have a future with the High Table. I don't want to see you,' "Stop," I say, interrupting him, "You think you know a lot about me but you don't. I'm not one of these Russian girls that you can seduce with your tasteless charm. I already have a man who does a lot for me," I think about Booker and I think about his arms wrapped around me as I sip my cocktail.

'Are you talking about that negro in America?' I throw my vodka on him and while he was still in shock, I slide my hand in my purse with the gun at the ready. It's then that the other members sit next to us, his face still shocked that I threw vodka on him, my hand still holding my sidearm. I had it aimed right towards his cock, 'That's enough you two,' I hear Damien say. It's then that four others sit down with us, Damien sitting square in the middle of us both. 'Maria, put your gun away,' I hear him say in a calm voice. 'Mr. Volkov, call off your two dogs and if something happens to her, something will happen to you,' 'She threw vodka on me,' 'After you called her significant other a negro, how did you think that was going to go, young man?' 'You're lucky she didn't shoot you in your manhood,' I hear another person say and I connect the voice to an older woman.

"So, you were all watching this the entire time?" I say to them. It's then that another gentleman speaks up as he says, 'Yes of course. We knew that Volkov was going to do something stupid and we wanted to see your reaction,' "I don't have time for games," 'Neither do we,' the final one said and I heard the elderly woman say, she is well into her 60's, far older than the other woman but you could tell there was some kind of difference between them and her. She had a certain kind of ruthlessness in her eyes and it seemed like we kept eye contact for what felt like an eternity. 'The reason why you're here is for you to formally meet all seven of us,' she said, breaking the silence.

I look around, seeing all seven of them. 'I am Victoria Ivanov and you'll work with everyone here personally. There's no need for introductions today as we are just having a standard meeting today. You all can acquaint yourselves later. Seeing as Josef has officially retired thanks to Maria and Damien's efforts and that all of our enemies have been dealt with within Russia and Moscow, it is time for us to worry about the CIA and our assets. All of the money has been liquidated in my area. It's all been condensed to off-shore accounts and been dispursed into other forms of currency. Bit-coin being my favorite,' I look at Volkov as he rubs his fingers together as if thinking about money. It's then that the other woman says, 'The money is safe in the church. No one will touch it unless they have legal rights for it,'

'My money has been shelled into multiple charity organizations and protected by a few politicians,' Damien says while smoking a cigarette. 'And what about you, Ivan?' 'Our supplies have been secured. I liquidated and sold all of the supplies from cocaine all the way down to the whores,' 'All of the hired guns have been taken care of. They're either taking vacations or we won't be hearing from them,' A young man with glasses and slicked-back hair said. His blue eyes were deep, it's then that Miss Victoria looks at me and says, 'And this is our newest member of the High Table,' she says with a smile. It's then that Volkov says, 'I thought we weren't doing introductions,' It's then that the gentleman with slicked-back hair says, 'I think it's good that we know who she is. She did just dethrone Josef,' He said, almost as if vouching for me.

'I'm just saying, Ivan. If we're not doing introductions,' Volkov said, 'Then why are we introducing the newest member?' 'Is your pride still hurt?' he said, 'My pride is perfectly intact,' 'Then how about you shut the fuck up?' I see the man next to me say, he was certainly different from Ivan, I didn't get his name yet. 'Semenov,' I hear Victoria say, 'Calm down, Volkov, you had that coming,' Miss Victoria said, looking at him. 'You disrespect a woman's partner, some people take it as if you're spitting on them,' He sits down, realizing he lost the argument, he calms himself and then calls for a shot glass.

Victoria then looks at me and says, 'You have a vast network all over the East Coast and you seem to have gotten better with how you handle everything,' I nod and say, "Thank you," 'It's time for you to understand how this works in this area now. I am your main distributor and all your drugs and resources will come from me or Alexi. Everything we do is within the High Table, all businesses and battles fought are within the High Table. If you have any side dealings outside of the High Table, you should relay them to us at once. If they prove to be beneficial, it will help everyone here. If not, then I have no problem insuring that we trim the fat,' I look into her eyes and I see that she had no problem, getting rid of the competition. I was never competitive but I made sure that my competition disappeared over time, any smart business person knows that competition is a liability to the entire process and I wasn't going to let competition stop me from succeeding.

As we talked more and more about business, I found myself, understanding what I had done. Not only did I kill my father and take his position, but I also took a position of power that my father had perfected over his life. I was a businesswoman and a powerful mogul and all of his assets are completely under my control, all of his assets and some of their assets, and they would find ways to get to those assets even if they had to go through me. 'Well, it's time,' I hear Alexi say with a smile. "The next round of drinks is on me," I say. 'Good,' Damien said, 'I didn't feel like paying for it,'

As we all drink, we finish up business proposals, having paperwork drafted by our liaisons. It was time to get ready.

End of Chapter 36: The High Table