leaves the whole operation vulnerable, and it leaves you vulnerable.”
“You two have been running things on the ground for a long time now in reality,” I tell them. “I’ve been in London, distracted by the legitimate business, and really, I’ve left the running of the other side of shit to you guys. Our world knows as much. You’ve been doing the heavy lifting without the reward. Now, you get the reward.”
“You’re simply giving it to us. All that profit?” Vasily stops pacing and watches me, like a damn hawk.
I laugh. “Not quite. I’m putting together a deal. You can buy me out.”
“If we don’t buy you out, though, and you still walk away, you lose it all.”
“Yeah, true. It will collapse and the smaller guys will fight over the pieces. Not that any of it will be worth much by then.”
“So you want us to buy you out?” Bohdan is looking more pissed than Vasily, which surprises me.
“If you want to.”
“And if we don’t, you walk away anyway, it all collapses and we get nothing?”
“I thought you’d both be happy about this. You get to be in charge. You’re my next in line, and now you get to be a fucking Pakhan. I’d have thought you’d be fucking grateful.”
“Oh, I’m in alright. I’m damn shellshocked that you’re doing this,” Vasily says. “But hell yes, I want to buy my way in. I’ve got enough saved up. If the offer is fair, I should be able to afford it.”
“It’s more than fair,” I tell him. Then I say what I believe is going to leave them both genuinely shocked to shit. “I’m selling to you for one hundred K each.”
“What?” Bohdan does a classic double take. “That makes no sense, K. The business is worth millions.”
“It is, but here’s the thing. I want out. The more I’ve thought about it, the more out I want. I’m going to hive some off to Allyov. The arms side of things on the West Coast, you’re about to be sharing with the Greeks. The rest of it is yours. For one hundred thousand each.”
It’s a token more than anything. The more I thought about things last night and on the flight, the clearer it became to me that for years now, Vasily and Bohdan have done the heavy lifting, and I’ve taken the reward. That’s fine, it’s the way it is in our world, but now, they get the reward for their hard work if they want it. And I get to walk the fuck away.
“Shit, boss.” Vasily shakes his head. “I’m in. How will it work with the Greeks?”
“Stamatis will effectively be in charge, overall. He’ll take a cut, a hefty one, but he’ll make sure you have safe passage and clear shipping lanes. Allyov, I’m giving all the non-legit London business. The rest of it, Moscow, it’s yours. If you want it.”
“Holy fuck, I don’t know what to say.” Vasily shakes his head. “And you’re doing all this for her?”
“Yes, I am, and you will only talk about her and treat her with respect from now on. Understood?”
“Yes, of course, boss.” Vasily blows out a long whistling breath between his teeth. “Wow, boss, when you go and fall, you do it hard.”
I don’t say anything because he’s not wrong.
“There’s an extra gift in this for you. I’ve talked to Andrius, and he thinks if I give Allyov the London side of things, he’ll let you keep Alexei. I suggest you do. He’s loyal, and he has a fearsome reputation. In fact, from what I’m hearing on the ground, the man is almost as feared now as Andrius was back in the day. You have him as your enforcer, it will go a long way to cementing your power. But…” I pause, take a sip of my coffee, and fix Vasily with a serious stare. “Don’t underestimate your own reputation. You were the one I sent to do my dirty work ninety percent of the time. I might have been ruthless with the orders I gave out, but you carried them out. You’re feared, and you’re respected. You don’t need me to cement that.”
He nods, and his face is alive, excited. He wants this, and he’ll do well with it. I turn to Bohdan, astonished to see what looks like grief etched on his face.
“Boss, I’m sorry, but I don’t want it. I liked working for you. You took me in, gave me a place … but I don’t want to run things