Dmitry's Closet by Nelson, S. (read people like a book .txt) 📕

he spoke in code, therefore requiring direct questioning of his activities.

“I’ll be home late.”

“Should I be worried?”

“You should never be worried. Haven’t I always taken care of you?”

“It’s not me that I’m worried about.”

“Well I am.”

“What’s this bag?” She opened in and looked inside. Surprised, Royal looked up at him for an explanation.

“That is just in case, I’m really late getting home.”

She stared at him quietly with tears in her eyes. “You can’t just go off and leave me alone, you know. I don’t care how much money is in this damned bag. It won’t make a bit of difference if you’re dead.”

“I don’t plan to die, and I don’t plan to leave you.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her lips gently. “There is a private jet waiting for you in the event that I am….” He looked down at the ground. “There is a new home for you in Prague, a nice shop already purchased. It’s on a cobblestone road like I promised.”

“What does any of that matter, if I cannot have it with you?”

“I plan to come back to you tonight and every night for the rest of my life, but should my plans change, I need to make sure that my child and my soon-to-be wife are protected and safe. There is enough money for you to make sure that you live well for a thousand lifetimes.”

Royal nodded. “You have to find a way to come back to me, Dmitry.” Tears fell down her cheeks. “Don’t you love me more that you love them?”

“Yes. I do,” he whispered. It was the truth, but he felt a strange betrayal to the Vory v Zakone for saying it aloud. It went against every code of the Thieves-In-Law to love and cherish her as much as he did.

“Then just leave with me now. We can get on the plane and go away and no one has to know where we are.” Her words were covered in agony. She looked up at him in pain and complete confusion.

“Don’t you know if I thought that could be, we would have done it a moon ago. They will only come after us, if I don’t do this right. They willcome after our child.”

Theywere quiet. Their eyes read each others.

Royal finally gave him a disapproving look.

“Well, what more is there to say?” she asked.

“Say that you love me and that you’ll forgive me for this, and you’ll be mine forever when I return.”

The tears rolled down her neck and onto her t-shirt. “I love you…I forgive you….” She bit her lip. “And when you come back, I’ll be yours forever.”

“I love you, too.” He kissed her hands. “Forever.”

Chapter 27

Near five in the afternoon, the sun had already set over Memphis leaving a clear, crisp night with faint stars in the sky. Cars busied the streets of downtown headed home from long days at the towering office buildings. Blinking traffic lights and street lamps lit up the skyline while crowds of people held close to their coats as they marched up and down the sidewalks headed to restaurants, bars and small shops that lined Main Street.

The smell of cooked food drifted from the kitchens of the fine eateries through the alleyways, tempting the homeless who huddled in corners near make-shift burners. Even the sounds of Creole bands, moved by Hurricane Katrina who had subsequently made Memphis their home, could be heard in the near by taverns playing a pretty tune for the happy hour working class. It was a pleasant evening overall. Uneventful and undisturbed.

For Ivan, the tranquility was the calm before the storm. He had been waiting all day, actually a decade, for the boom of life and retribution to come calling at his brother’s doorstep.

He sat patiently waiting, watching the dials on the clock past slowly, until finally his call came. After he received his full report, Ivanleft the balcony and walked into the large, empty living room where the men sat on old, dry rotted furniture loading their weapons. Impatiently, he knocked on the water-stained wall to get their attention. Dust and dirt fell to the ground as his hard knuckles hit the sooty wallpaper. Everyone stopped talking and looked over at him. He was grinning like chess cat with the cell phone in his hand.

“The show starts any minute, gentlemen. So, let’s get to our places and prepare give downtown Memphis a grand experience.” He sounded like a director about to reveal his grandest production, but he was in fact a cold-blooded killer preparing to terrorize the growing metro.

The men got up and scurried. Many of them chatted up amongst themselves in their native tongue, while Dorian surveyed the outside of Mother Russia restaurant with his computers.

“So, they did shut it down,” Ivan said, looking at the computer, marveling at the high-resolution clarity of the screen.

“Everything is ready. All you gave to do is say the word,” Dorian said, keeping his eyes on the screen, watching for any threat to the operation.

∞♥∞

Agosto and Sorrello sat in their car watching Mother Russiarestaurant from down the street. Eating warm peanuts he had purchased from the Peanut Shop, Sorrello yawned and stretched, tiring of the many stakeouts that they had been on lately.

“Maybe they changed the time?” Sorrello questioned his Intel and looked down at his watch.

“No, they’re doing it tonight,” Agosto said, tapping the steering wheel anxiously. “I can feel it, you know?” He looked over at Sorrello, who was rubbing the oily residue of the peanuts from his hands onto his jacket.

Agosto shook his head. “You need a wife, man. You’re a mess.”

“Had one before you were legal to drink, kid.”

“Yeah? What happened?”

“The bitch left.” He thought about trying to explain but decided not to.

“My bad.”

“Ah, forget about it.” He scratched his stubbly beard. “I can’t say that I blame her. I’ve spent