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His eyes skimmed from Viktor’s face to mine, uncertain. Should he? Or should he not? He seemed to decide on the former and clasped his bony fingers together.
I shared a grin with Viktor, as we observed his reaction.
He sucked his teeth. “Great! So, I was saying, Rafail, this operation ...” his eyes shifted again. “It’s a no-brainer. I’m in charge, so you can do whatever you want and not even a blip would show on our records. But—”
“Oh, there’s a ‘but’,” Viktor dramatically remarked, swirling the ice in his glass.
Smiling wasn’t part of my daily routine, so holding back a grin and pretending to not feel the rising tension between them was not a difficult task. Viktor motioned the glass toward the officer before taking a swig. “I thought you said you were in charge.”
Andy hooked a finger between his tie knot and tugged it loose. His hair wasn’t the only thing shining anymore. Beads of sweat now trickled down the sides of his forehead.
“I-I am. I’m in charge. Y-you know how this works, right? From the looks of things, this isn’t your first rodeo. There are procedures to these types of operations and I’m telling you, you can do whatever you want; kill whomever you wish, but your mess goes out of the city with you. You can’t litter; all dead bodies must be discarded. If you do your part, I’ll make sure I do mine.”
I tilted back on the sofa and spread my arms on the rim. “If we are doing all the hard work, what is your part then, officer?”
“To make sure it flows without a hitch. The man will be labeled as missing in the files, and that's it. No murder case, or anything that could be traced back to you. I assure you.”
I cocked my head to the side, close enough to pick the strong woody scent and body heat from Viktor, and whispered, “Kogda rech' idet o den'gakh, proyavlyayetsya ikh istinnyy kharakter.” [When money is involved, their true character comes out.]
“Da [yes].” He chuckled, and I pulled back, facing Andy squarely.
“Show him,” I said to Viktor.
He dug his hand into a jacket pocket and pulled out a brown envelope. It was large, tightly wrapped with thick rubber bands, and smelled of newly printed dollar notes.
Viktor thrust his arm, ready to throw. I lifted a finger. “Pereday yemu. Ne brosay.” [Hand it to him. Don’t throw.”] We are gentlemen and not animals. Not yet anyway.
A smirk slid up Viktor’s lips and I played with a stray thread of fabric sticking out from the sofa. Le Coin Brulet at its best indeed. From the corner of my eyes, I watched Andy run one hand over his greasy hair and collect the envelope with another.
The shameless cunt didn’t even bother hiding his greedy grin. He unwrapped the brown envelope and set the green bundles on the table with a wolfish gaze and his teeth bared. Then, he started counting the notes, and that was just fucking irritating.
I threw my arms off the rim and leaned forward with a speed that made his soul leap from his body. The bundles rattled in his hands, and he gaped as if he’d seen a ghost. “Do it later. Not here and not now. And remember this for later, never insult me by counting the money in my presence.”
“Y-yes, sir—I mean, R-Rafail ...”
“What you have there is half of what you asked for. You will get the balance when or if you do a clean job. We did not come to Denver for a vacation. We need that man gone. Istreblen.” [Exterminated.]
“Istre—Istreb-blen? What does that ... what does it mean?”
Viktor laughed, dark and heavy.
I sighed and rubbed my temple. We better not have a fucking idiot on our hands.
Being a man of his ranks, he was highly recommended, and I’d expected to meet a dirty cop with a stiff spine and masks for eyes, like the ones I was slowly getting used to back in the big city, and not a spineless bootlicker who was willing to do anything for money.
The local police in this town turned out to be too nice for their own good.
Any other day, I might have gladly stepped aside and allowed Viktor to visit Denver in my place but the problem at hand was a dicey one. And the target involved was mine to exterminate.
He lifted a portrait photograph to Andy’s face.
“You got this with the other details, yes?” I eyed the officer and he nodded.
“I did. Did a background check and found out he’s not much in town. That’ll make the operation easier. Plus, there’s a bonus. He lives alone and has no record of family.”
“I already know that,” I said, and Andy paused.
“Okay. Good, good.” His head bobbed up and down as he commenced stacking the dollar bills back into the envelope. “Consider this job done. You can go back and rest nice and easy.”
