Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

V adim

Aleksander was not only a man of his word, but he also had the innate ability to call a meeting of the mind with flair and common sense. I'd honestly been shocked he'd been able to pull the meeting together so quickly given the men involved. However, the fact that he'd been able to accomplish the feat in record time told me something very important.

All three men had also been placed under some kind of duress.

Was the meeting I had planned unheard of? Not necessarily. Back in the day, the five more infamous families holding New York as a hostage position had formed a darker alliance of sorts.

Pops had told me all about it, being asked only at the last minute to become an auxiliary member. Fortunately for him, he'd realized that powerful men didn't play well in the sandbox before the shit had hit the fan, including the Feds using the strangled alliance to try to make dozens of arrests.

I couldn't care less about this limited alliance lasting for long. In fact, I had no intention of allowing that to occur, but either the person behind the attempt to control the city would be flushed out or we'd all be placed on high alert.

Which was necessary if we wanted to continue operating successfully.

Aleksander had also been smart enough to select a neutral territory, a Catholic church both the Italians and the Irish frequented with their families. While my family had never been particularly religious, I'd been taught to honor the church in certain ways.

Meaning, no blood would be shed on the hallowed grounds under any circumstances.

As I drove into the parking lot of the massive cathedral, I felt a sense of awe given the stunning architecture and the meaning behind the church itself.

So many people needed hope to get them through their days and difficult lives. I wasn't immune to the concept. I'd simply never found a reason to believe in a higher power.

Maybe that was because something in the back of my mind told me if I did, I might dwell on the fact I was going straight to hell. There wouldn't be any get out of jail free card given my violent actions all throughout my life.

I stood staring up at the massive structure while Nikolay and Sergei exited Nikolay's car. I'd insisted on driving myself, determined to make a statement with every action I took.

That included appearing like the powerful leader I was.

I'd popped three more ibuprofen, trying to keep my limp to a minimum. The last thing I needed was to appear weak.

As they both flanked my side, I sensed their combined tension. It could be cut with a knife.

"I don't like this, boss. I know you have your reasons, but you could be walking into a death sentence." Nikolay kept his voice low, as if there were listening devices everywhere.

That much I knew wasn't the case.

"I've learned many things in my life, Nik, one of them being most men fear God. Two of our three men are highly religious, regularly attending church while the other practices the old ways from their ancestors when it comes to their beliefs. They won't dare desecrate the church."

"You're sure we won't catch on fire by just walking in?"

I glanced at Sergei, able to laugh. "Stop worrying. I doubt Satan is hovering around waiting for us to consider walking into any church."

"What's the goal here?" Nikolay asked. "Any rules?"

"First, there will be no weapons brandished. That will only make us seem weak. You are to be my eyes and ears but keep silent at this point. I'm certain they brought their men as well. Plus, the priest is a good friend of Aleksander's family. I do not want him any more stressed than he already is. That's not my goal. We're going to have a short meeting and test the waters. I'll know if it's time to leave and will simply get up from the table. No matter what insults might be shouted, do not respond. Are we clear?"

After I looked from one man to the other, they both nodded, buttoning their jackets so their weapons wouldn't be noticed. As I walked up the steps of the church, I scanned the busy street behind us. There would be no way of telling if soldiers from any of the other three organizations were planning an attack. They would be signing their death warrants should they consider something so egregious.

The moment I opened the doors, a strange sense of peace floated through me. The parish itself was massive, various rooms located on several floors. There was a rectory out back where the accommodations for at least three different priests were located.

Candles were lit as they always seemed to be, at least a scattered few people praying near the main altar. No one paid us any mind as we walked in. Aleksander had given me a layout of the facility, directing me to a second floor where there was a discreet conference room where the meeting could be held.

I found the stairs easily enough, walking up the flight slowly. There was no need to rush, no need to appear unnerved in any way.

The conference room was at the end of the hall overlooking the landscaped grounds. Our footsteps sounded hollow, echoing as we headed in the direction of the open door. The gothic exterior had extended to various locations inside, the wooden door reminding me of something out of the seventeen hundreds.

The Catholics certainly loved their dark drama.

Just outside the doorway, I noticed the room was already full. Of course, I'd arrived ten minutes late on purpose, wanting to be the last member to arrive.

When I walked in, I surveyed the room immediately. Various groups of men stood in the shadows, waiting as the three bosses sat as far away from each other as the long wooden table allowed. Everyone stiffened, except for Stefano. He seemed not amused but curious what I might have to say this go-around.

I headed further in, curious that one head of the table had been left open. How generous of them.

"Gentlemen. I'm glad you could make it," I told them as I took my time sitting down. I sensed I'd been scrutinized, my actions observed like hawks hoping to find scraps of food.

They would find none.

"Your second in command is quite convincing," Shane said in his Irish lilt. To his friends and family, the man appeared jovial, even friendly to all those around him, but he was a shark in disguise, capable of doing terrible things.

"Yes, he is," I said. "Good to see you, Narek." Which of course was a lie. He knew it. I knew it. Hell, the entire city knew it.

He smiled and played the game, which I gave him credit for. "I realized that getting to the bottom of our… troubles would be a very good idea. However, I do have business to attend to. A business you seem insistent on investing in." His taunt was to be expected.

"My wealth is because I constantly diversify. And I assure you that this won't take long." I gave a long piercing look to every man before getting down to business. "I think we have a situation where someone is attempting to secure our collective demise."

Narek laughed. "You are a slick man but do not fuck with my company."

"I have no intention of doing so." I left the comment rather open ended. Of course, it was a veiled threat.

"It's fascinating, Vadim, that you were so certain I was responsible for attempting to rid this world of the person who hacked into my system," Stefano said with an edge in his voice. "Now, we're here together."

"I've had someone dig into our highly secure system as well, Stefano," Shane admitted.

"And you?" I asked Narek. He would be the least likely to admit anyone had discovered anything about his organization. Men in our worlds considered that an egregious weakness and one none of us could afford.

He glanced from Shane to Stefano before looking at me directly, doing nothing more than nodding.

"Then the truth is that someone wants to shut us down, send us to prison, or gain access to our businesses through our legitimate business activities and accounts. And by possibly pitting one against the other. Now, I'm certain you've heard I have in my possession the hacker responsible for breaking into Don Marino's files, but I assure you she is just a pawn as well. Someone did attempt to end her life and if it wasn't you, Stefano, then it has to be the people who were hiding in the shadows. That is the only way that they could discover her security breach so quickly."

"How quickly are we talking about?" Shane asked.

"Less than thirty minutes and they were inside her apartment attempting to kidnap her or end her life."

He whistled. "Do you have any idea who might be behind these cyber-attacks?"

"None whatsoever, although I have a few ideas. In my mind, a single person could hold the key to learning that information."

"And who is that?" Stefano asked, acting as if he couldn't care less.

"A person known as her handler. I know very little about the man other than he uses the name Joshua Smith, Blackbird being his handle." I scoped the table to determine if anyone had heard of him. It was impossible to tell at this point. We were all trained to mask our emotions and all reactions.

Another method of staying alive.

The powerful men glanced at each other. "And you want us to find this person and take care of him," Narek huffed, as if it was a major inconvenience.

"Make no mistake. I want him alive. He needs to be interrogated," I told the group.

Shane took a deep breath. "You truly believe someone outside this group hired this hacker to infiltrate all our organizations."

"I do, which is why I believe it's in all our best interests to work together to ensure our corporations continue on. While I realize this short alliance is difficult to swallow, whoever is doing this is using the fact we consider each other enemies to keep us on edge and incapable of discovering the identity of those responsible. They are hoping we will be at each other's throats by the end of this. Imagine what will occur if we don't focus on the truth. We are businessmen and must think that way. Period."

Stefan sighed, drumming his fingers on the table.

The tension in the air was palpable but to be expected.

"He's right," Stefan said. "Vadim and I have already been ready to kill each other, the clues for a situation leading directly to my organization. While no one will ever consider me a team player and we don't like each other, that's fine as long as we respect each other's territory and families."

I waited as the others thought about my recommendation. It was dicey at best, egos and heavy amounts of testosterone involved but, in my mind, it would alleviate any outside issues.

In addition, if any of the other three had been the instigators of the situation, their smugness would be easy to spot.

"Have either of the two of you had any issues so we all know what to look for?" I asked Shane and Narek.

Shane laughed. "I had a shipment sent off course, which allowed supposed pirates to sabotage the cargo ship, not only stealing my property but sinking the ship. At first, I was certain it was a series of employee mistakes and equipment failure, but I've already begun to think otherwise, although there is no proof."

I slowly turned my head toward Narek, the most cautious of the group.

He looked away briefly then nodded. "Fortunately, after five hundred thousand was stolen from an offshore account, one of my computer experts was able to lock down the system. But from what I've been told, additional efforts almost succeeded. Whoever is behind this has a powerful team of experts."

"Agreed," I said. "And I think what we've seen is just the beginning. I would also caution you that it's my belief the responsible party works to corrupt, blackmail, or convince at least one person within our respective organizations to work with them, which allows for some insider information."

Stefano growled, pounding his fist on the table and glaring at the two soldiers he'd brought with him. He barked at them in half Italian, half English but it was easy to gather what he was concerned about.

He'd believed someone in his organization had betrayed him for months.

"It would seem, gentlemen, that it's in our best interest to try and work together," I offered.

"How do you suggest we go about this?" Shane asked.

"By providing details of issues that have occurred, any and all possibilities for who might be behind that. And by no means am I suggesting we provide details of our business activities to each other. This isn't about claiming additional business but about keeping our regimes intact." I still wasn't certain at this point how well received my suggestion was.

Shane was the first to nod, giving me a look of respect. "I agree and will be happy to be a party to this twisted alliance." He held a hint of amusement in his eyes.

I tipped my head toward Stefano. He took a deep breath and also nodded.

"We all need to honor this pledge," he said. "But I do have one question, Vadim. If this individual or group is found, who is going to be rewarded the ability to deal with them in… our way?"

"Good question," Narek hissed.

I laughed. "How about we all do as a final gesture of our alliance?"

Narek finally dropped his scowl. "You are an evil man, Vadim. I believe I like that about you."

Laughing again, I rose to my feet. "To a new alliance. A pledge to honor each other. Our businesses. Our families."

Shane got up next. "And we all must keep that pledge, gentlemen. I for one will be pissed and retaliatory if one or more of us breaks that promise."

Stefano finally stood. "I will admit, Vadim. Your suggestion is a viable and good one. Yes, I will honor this pledge."

"We should toast to our newly found alliance. I brought whiskey," Shane announced, nodding to his men.

I took a deep breath, glancing at my men. This was merely winning a small battle in what felt like a significant war.

But it was a beginning.

Hopefully of the end of the nightmare.