AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not much to look at, is it?” Alek said, following his gaze.
“Not yet anyway,” Lyon agreed.
Inside wasn’t much better: a large but generic room, a bar strung with multicolored lights, and a handful of serviceable tables at the edges of what Lyon presumed was a dance floor after dark.
He caught the eye of a rotund man with glasses behind the bar. The man’s eyes widened, and he hurried around the bar to greet Lyon.
“Mr. Antonov! What an unexpected surprise, a pleasure of course.” He reached for Lyon’s hand and shook it before Lyon knew what was happening. “A total pleasure. May I get you a drink? I have a wonderful Belvedere, just a hint of spice and cream…” He shook his head. “Oh, no… that won’t do. Polish vodka for the Lion? Psh! You’ll want something from the Motherland. What am I thinking?”
He hurried back to the bar and moved around in a flurry of activity.
“Let’s see, where is that… Ah yes!” He produced a slender bottle with a black label. “You’ll want the Beluga of course.”
He poured shots into three glasses and pushed two of them across the bar.
Lyon felt himself propelled forward by the man’s exuberant hospitality. The man lifted his glass. Lyon and Alek followed suit.
“Za vaše zdorovie,” the man said. The salute sounded less threatening than it had coming from the mouth of Tolya Sakharov.
They drank, and Lyon was struck by the quality of the vodka, the crispness it left in his mouth.
“Ah, clean like a tear, isn’t it?” the man said, pleasure lighting his eyes. “It’s the Siberian water.”
“And you are?” Lyon asked.
“I am… Oh yes!” The man slapped his forehead in a cartoonish gesture that looked entirely genuine coming from him. “I am Misha Veselov.” He gave a little bow. “And I am at your service.”
Lyon had never met the man, but he recognized the name as the owner of Ludis. It had been Borya Kamenev’s holding before Kira had gifted it to Lyon, which meant Misha had kicked a significant portion of his income to Borya.
That income was now Lyon’s, a sacrifice Lyon would make up to Borya when he was made a member of the Spies, as Lyon had promised.
Lyon hadn’t expected resistance from Misha — he wouldn’t care who he kicked money to — but neither had he expected such open excitement at Lyon’s takeover.
Lyon looked around. “We’ll have to redecorate of course.”
“Of course, of course!” Misha said. “Whatever you want. Ludis is yours to do with as you see fit.”
“May I look around?” Lyon asked. It was a courtesy. Lyon would do as he pleased, but there was no reason to be a dick when Misha seemed more than happy to cooperate with Lyon’s takeover of the club.
“Yes, yes! Look around! Look around!” The man’s complexion had grown florid with his excitement.
Lyon walked through the room. A couple sat at the bar, and one of the tables was occupied by two men Lyon recognized as members of Lev’s crew.
Good. Let them report that Lyon was proceeding with his takeover, Musa or no Musa.
He looked around as they made their way to the back, making mental notes of the changes that would need to be made.
He found the restrooms, adequate but lacking in style, like the rest of the place. There was also a storeroom stacked with boxes full of liquor, a small office, and two larger rooms that appeared to be reserved for parties.
Lyon stood in one of the party rooms and took in the cheap 1970s panelling, the must of the shag carpet that offended his nose.
“Not exactly Samara, is it?” Alek asked.
It was an understatement, but Lyon could see the potential under the cheap, outdated decor.
An idea came to him: he would have Kira work on the place. She had the kind of innate style that could remake Ludis into a luxury club. It would be a jewel in the crown of Lyon’s holdings, a perk Lyon’s inner circle could brag about to friends with lesser assignments, a destination worth the trip across town for the city’s rich and feral.
He was suddenly excited to tell her, although it was difficult to say whether she’d be happy or offended by the assignment and equally difficult to say which would be more entertaining to observe.
