CHAPTER NINE

   NIKOLAI

Earlier today, i had checked the email linked to the black market and found out the hacker had already sent me results.

   After going through them, I agreed they would come in handy later. Lev said he wasn't able to get it but I guess he didn't dig deep enough.

  Sitting in my office reviewing the loads of files that were on my table. It was already evening and I was beginning to strain from sitting down, reading and signing files. Strangely I missed the woman I left at home this morning.    

    Lev hurriedly came in without knocking, 

    “S..s..sir”, He stammered,

      “What is it?” I snapped at him. Panic already rising in my chest,

      “There.. there has been an accident… it's on the news as well,” 

       “Get to the point Lev”

  

     “It's Mrs. Markov”

I might have developed tinnitus for a minute because of the way my ears kept ringing. My brain couldn't register what we had just been told. Finally finding my words, I asked the question that the negative answer had been nagging my mind,

     “Is she dead?”

    “I don't know sir, but she has been taken to St. Charles, it was said on the news”

    “Get her hospital details removed from the news” and I dashed out immediately.

  My heart kept pounding and I felt what I felt the day I saw my parent’s bodies in our sitting room. That feeling came back the day grams died now it's here again. Tatyana would die.

  The one time I decided to let myself feel something for someone, it was being taken from me. I didn't know I had been fighting tears till I felt it drop on my hand on the steering wheel.

   I parked at the entrance of the hospital, dashed out of the car,

     “Please excuse me, i’m looking for Tatyana”

She looked at me strangely, 

    “The accident victim that was brought here”

   “Are you a relative?”

    “I am her husband,” I snapped, exasperated. 

      “Ohh she has been asking after you”

   “Wait,...She's alive?” I asked staring at her wide eyed,

      “Yes she is, although her road to recovery is going to be a long one”

   I exhaled, relief washed through me, I hadn't even realized that I had been holding bated breath”.

She led me to the room and I saw her. My wife. Her eyes were shut. Dozens of machines were connected to her frail little self. My heart ached for her.

   As if sensing my presence, she opened her eyes and smiled weakly at me. I noticed she did not talk, I sat there and held her hands and gently massaged them placing kisses on them at intervals. I don't know how long I sat in that position, but the arrival of the doctors interrupted me.

    “Are you her husband?”

    “Yes I am”

    “Okay” 

They then proceeded to explain her diagnosis and I confirmed that the smoke inhalation is the cause of her temporary speech impairment, she had burns too. My wife was in so much pain.

    After arrangements with the doctors had been made, I made a call to bring four efficient guards for her. I noticed her driver Vanny wasn't there, he must be dead so I didn't bother. 

    Minutes later, Lev's call came in,

    “Boss it was Mr. Oleg Baranov who arranged with her driver to do this”

     “Who the fuck is Oleg Baranov?”

   “Sir it's from a small rival clan here in Kazan”

     “Bring him to me.”

“Uhmmn.. Sir..?”

   “What is it again Lev?”

   “The council are requesting for a meeting now”

     “ Let them know I'm indisposed”. I hung up before he said another nonsense.

   When the guards arrived, I left the hospital. I had received a text from Lev saying he had found Oleg.

I turned on my ignition and zoomed to the warehouse. This man was going to learn the reason I was named most dangerous man in Kazan.

   Lev had caught both him and Vanny. They were tied with chains when I came in. I walked up to him and gave him a very hard slap,

    “I task you with driving and protecting my wife and this is what I get?”

    “I'm so sorry sir, he threatened my family” 

   “Okay well let's properly threaten them now, shall we?”

    His cries echoed through the basement as he was being tortured, recording them to be sent to his family. 

Turning to Oleg, he had already peed in his pants before I got to him. He was already ready to make a confession.Pussy!!

    “Nikolai please, there was a rumour you had cut off from the inner council, that's why I did what I did, i’m so sorry” he cried,

     I stared at him, a big ‘What?’ on my face,

   “I felt once you've left the inner council, you would be no longer powerful so.. so I decided to use it to my advantage by taking the one thing you seem to now like”,

    “There's something you're mistaken about, without me there's no inner council, I am the council itself.”

    I could tell he was regretting his actions but I wasn't done with him yet.

    “i’m going to rid Kazan of you and everybody and everything that bears your name, then you will be the last one to die because you will have to watch them die. In your next life, you won't come close to anything that's mine”.

   His cries for help and pleas for mercy echoed the room till I walked out. I headed home to get some utilities for Tatyana. 

    I heard voices arguing when I stepped out of the car to go inside. I went inside and it was the members of the inner council in the sitting room. The Chief of staff stood at the door fidgeting when she saw me, 

    “it's okay Lydia, you can go inside,

        Uhmm pack some things for Tatyana, she's not coming home tonight”.

   I had not even sat down properly when Ivan started barraging me with questions,

     “I heard she's dead”,

Others chipped in, 

     “What you could not do, someone else had done it for us, a win is a win anyway”

  I just sat there and when they were done talking amongst themselves, I said,

    “She's alive”

They all turned and stared at me as if I had grown another head, 

    “What?” They all echoed,

  “I said she's alive.”

  “Pull the plug or we banish you from this family and the company!”