“Thank you,” he says.
“You’re welcome,” I take his arm as he escorts me to the waiting car.
“She’s right, though. That guy yesterday is bad news,” he warns me.
I don’t say anything, it would be a lost cause. I don’t think Ivan is bad news at all.
Eleven
Ivan
“Pavel,” I greet the man who is chained to a chair and looks worse for wear. Guess a few people had their fun before me.
“Ivan I didn’t….”
“You didn’t? If you weren’t a rat, a traitor, you wouldn’t be sitting in front of me right now.”
“I would never betray your father,” he replies.
“My father isn’t a stupid man and he took his time finding the person who betrayed him. What was in it for you? Money? A place of power? Who did you sell our secrets to?”
He hangs his head, and I know the answer to my first question, money.
“If you needed money you could have asked for it, my father would have given you whatever you needed. Was it worth it?”
He remains silent, knowing he signed his death certificate.
“Who was it?”
“I can’t tell you that,” he sobs.
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Can’t.”
“Kind of the same thing isn’t it. You can’t because you won’t give it to me.”
“I mean I can’t, I don’t know who they are. Phones are encrypted with voice-altering. They never gave me a name, just dumped a couple of mil in my account and I betrayed my best friend.”
“Hope you spent that money wisely since you’ll die for it. Hope it was worth it. I think you’ll make up for it in the cage,” I hiss and he tries to move back from me as I get close to his face and grab his throat, “you will meet your death at my hands, you knew never betray family. See you soon.” I drop him back into the chair and he gasps for air, music to my ears.
I close the door to his cries, not giving a shit, he will die a horrible death that’s all there is to it.
“Give you anything?” Tim asks as I step back into the sunshine, blinking to adjust my eyes.
“He said they called and that they altered their voices but never gave him a name. He knows he is going to die by my hand,” I tell him, jerking my thumb at a soldier to guard the rat.
“Get your blood rolling?”
“It does, when will the cage be done?”
“We will be ready to open the underground by tomorrow night, cage included. We’ve set out invites to certain VIPs, crooked politicians, and cops, and such. Should be a packed house, betting will be in the millions I can guarantee that.”
“All that matters,” I follow him to the restaurant off the lobby and order a vodka. It’s better than going all Hulk on the city, looking for trouble. Knowing someone close sold out all of us for money makes me angry.
“I’m meeting the girls at the airport to get them settled,” he smiles.
“Meaning you’re going to test the goods,” I retort.
