Vengeance.
It's something I've been taught as the son of a cruel mafia don; something I've comforted myself with for years.
When the one thing that kept me grounded is yanked away so ruthlessly, it's only in my nature to strike out in the only way...
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"You're forty-eight hours late," I said to Vlad as he strolled into the warehouse, a relaxed smile on his face.
Vlad became my supplier from the moment my father died, and not once had he ever been late to a drop. Even though he had things to deal with, he showed up early, and we never exchanged smiles.
He acted out of both characters - he was late, and he smiled at me.
"I know, I know, but I had to make sure you had the best bricks in the market," he said, his thick Russian accent rolling off his tongue. "I had an issue that I had to sort out myself. My old man has been acting out."
He broke rule number three. We never exchanged personal details.
"Yeah?" I asked as he placed a briefcase on the table between us. "What'd he do?" I baited, just to see if he'd fall for it.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Broke out of the asylum, and he stole my drugs. Nothing too serious."
He took the bait. Matteo's stance shifted, and from the corner of my eye, I saw him discreetly reach for his gun.
Vladimir Novikov was one of the well-known Russian cartel leaders in the underground, but his family had a track record of fucking people over.
Just because he hadn't fucked me over in over two years, it didn't mean it wouldn't happen now. The only reason I gave him a chance was that his products were easily the best on the market, and because he had lesser patronage, he didn't cost as much as the other dealers.
"I thought he was dead." That was the news that had gotten to me.
Vlad shrugged. "It's just rumors. He isn't dead. That was the narrative I pushed to keep business moving. Business is just business, right? No hard feelings," he said with a smirk.
I reacted a second too late. The lights in the warehouse went off, and gunshots rang in the warehouse. It took a while for my eyes to get used to the darkness, and when they did, I saw Vlad heading for the door.
I didn't think twice before I raised my arm and shot.
"Niko, move!" Matteo shouted. My body moved before my brain could fully process the command. If I'd moved a second later, I'd have had a blade stuck into my side.
My attacker did something unexpected next. He slit his throat, choking on his blood as he hit the floor.
I frowned down at the dead body. "Well, that takes care of that." He would have had a more painful death by my hand. "What the fuck just happened?"
"Vlad fucked us over."
***
"Not one of them survived?" I asked Matteo through the phone, my jaw locking in anger.
"No. There was no scuffle."
"So, sniper then," I concluded. Vlad would beg for death when I finally got my hands on him.
