Chapter 2 - Ashan

My meeting was halfway through. I had almost closed the deal with Mr. Urgens when there was a knock at the door. “I’m busy,” I shouted, smiling at the man before me. “Apologies for the disturbance,” I said to Mr. Urgens.

Since he walked through the double glass doors of my gambling den, he had been on edge. He’d been fidgety and restless even after we entered my office and closed the doors. This deal was important, and I tried to ease him as much as possible. His unrest wasn’t quite kosher, and I didn’t like it. However, I coped with it, knowing how easily he got offended.

We had a shot of whiskey before we started, and I had thought he looked somewhat calmer. But seeing him jump at the knock on the door gave me a bad feeling. He was about to say something when the door flew open, and Leo Morozov entered.

Mr. Urgens glanced over his shoulder and gave Leo an angry glare. “I am sorry to bother cousin, but something serious has come up that can’t wait,” Leo said, stepping up to my side.

Leaning in, Leo whispered. Yet, his voice seemed to billow through the air. “Our information base has been hacked, and the details for this establishment were included in the information they got. They got everyone”s details. I need to access your network to do a trace.”

I tried to give Mr. Urgens a comforting smile but I felt sure my face spoke of the anger rising inside. I felt my blood turning to fire as Leo spoke. Looking up into his eyes, I knew this wasn’t a joke. He appeared way too calm for this to be a lie and even though his face was straight, his eyes spoke volumes.

Mr. Urgens rose from his chair quickly, almost toppling it over. “You’ve been hacked?” He spat at me.

Standing and meeting his gaze, I tried to calm him down. “No, no, Mr. Urgens. Please sit while I go out for a second to find out what is happening. Please.”

He was already halfway across the floor as I spoke. Grabbing the door, Mr. Urgens turned; his eyes were lit as if on fire. “I can’t have part of such things. The deal is off. I must go.” He sputtered, rambling off his words before disappearing through the door.

Feeling my anger taking over, I slammed my fists onto the table. “No,” I screamed. I have been working on this deal for more than six months. Working with the Castoia Mafia would have doubled our income. I couldn’t believe he had just walked out. Even more, I was stunned at the information Leo had just shared.

Glancing at Leo, I moved away from my desk so he could access my laptop. “What the hell happened?” I asked as I stared out the second-floor window. I saw Mr. Urgens rush to his limo. “There went our relations with the Castoias,” I added, irritated.

“Yeah, the timing of this hack was terrible,” Leo remarked from behind me. I could hear some stress in his voice. “I’m not sure if they had something to do with it, though.” He added.

“Do you think this was planned, and they had something to do with it? Can you trace the hacker?” I asked hastily. After Luder went full-time into real estate, I became head of gambling. He has his own life now with his family, and I have made a real difference in our operations. Yet, today’s canceled deal was a blow to us.

“It’s not only us; it may have had something to do with the meet, but we don’t know anything for sure. I’ll let you know once, I’m sure.” Leo breathed out as he rose and moved to the door. “I’ll be back later, Ashan.” he added, slamming the door shut behind him as he left. I glanced at the door in amazement and back out the window.

I didn’t expect Leo’s action. I sighed, turning back, and staring at the city outside. Opening the window, I allowed the breeze to blow in and cool the sweat forming on my brow. “This deal is my failure,” I spoke to the wind. “No matter what happened, it was on me.”

Hearing the door softly opening behind me, I spun around to see who was now coming to bother me further. Leaning against the door in her silky gown stood Ana. We had an on and off fling for a couple years now. I even made her part of the management at the den. But the family didn’t agree with our relationship. They felt she was slightly vindictive and a bad influence. Yet, I couldn’t really see it. Maybe my feelings were clouding my judgment.

I had broken up with her a couple of times, but she had something, I just couldn’t place it. She had a lure. The gown she wore wasn’t tied and hung to the sides of her curvaceous body. Her lacy underwear didn’t leave a lot for the imagination as she stretched her arm up the door. Ana licked her fully round lips and smiled seductively at me.

“Not now, Ana,” I said as she entered and closed the door behind her. Yet, she didn’t seem the least bit put off by my words or tone.

Walking toward me, she moved her head from side to side so hard that her silky red locks flowed into her face. Ana pushed herself onto my table. Sitting on the corner, she placed her hands between her legs as she leaned forward. “Come on, sweetie,” she whispered, pushing her breasts out and shaking them lightly. “I know you want some.”

“Ana,” I said, raising my voice slightly. “I said not now.” My mind was overflowing with the events of earlier. I had to do something to rectify the deal. But first, I needed to find out more about this hacker.

As I stepped past Ana, she grabbed hold of my hand and placed it between her breasts. “Come on, baby, you know it’s good. It will help you relax. It always does.”

Pulling my hand from hers, I shook my head and left my office. This was not the time for such things. She aggravated me with her constant come-ons lately. We had a good time, but it was short-term. Yet, she appeared not to grasp this. I took what I wanted and didn’t want to be tied down. Ana knew this; I had never stayed with a woman for over six months. She had been my longest relationship if you could call it that.

But now I had to make sure that Mr. Urgens didn’t talk about what had gone down here. Plus, I needed to know if he had anything to do with this leak. We couldn’t afford to have our business splattered around.

Leo’s office was empty. He must have gone to Roman, and I would catch up in a bit once Mr. Urgens was dealt with. Leaving the club, I made a couple of calls. I would make sure that business would be taken care of before anything could get out. I wasn’t going to let this interfere with our dealings.

Driving towards the Castoia’s gambling house, I received a text from my top man. They had managed to get Mr. Urgens before he got to the casino, and he was waiting for me at the warehouse. Changing course, I sped up so I could get back before anyone came looking.

Riding around a two-block area, I ensured no sign of anyone else lurking around before parking next to the warehouse. Upon entering, I found four of my men inside with Mr. Urgens tied to a chair and gagged. They had placed him in the middle of the room.

“Hi there,” I spoke to Mr. Urgens as I neared him. “I’m so sorry for the inconvenience. But I am sure you also know I can’t allow the news to surface.” Grinning at him, I added. “Did you have anything to do with this?”

Mr. Urgens shook his head violently from side to side, mumbling through the gag.

“You know this is only business, no hard feelings. Right?”

He shook his head in acknowledgment and mumbled again. “Right then, you should also know what is coming next,” I added, glancing at the men around me. Mr. Urgens started squirming in the chair, moving fiercely. “Now, now, if you do that, the chair might fall over, and you could get hurt. So just sit still for us, and I’ll make it quick, I promise.”

This older man before me had been in this business a long time. I felt sure that retirement was due. I couldn’t be sure if he knew more about the hack, but I couldn’t take any chances. I had no other option than to take him out of play. Pulling my Smith Wesson, I leaned closer. “I am truly sorry,” I whispered into his ear.

Stepping back two paces, I aimed for his head. Mr. Urgens appeared to turn white as his blood drained from his face and sweat formed on his forehead. His mumbling increased, but he closed his eyes as I squeezed the trigger.

The shot echoed through the warehouse as blood splattered the floor behind the chair. It was done, but now we needed to get rid of the evidence.

I turned to my main man as I spoke. “Have you brought the barrels I asked for from Roman’s keep?” He nodded and pointed to the far side of the warehouse. “Right,” I continued. “You know what to do.

“Right away, boss,” he replied before showing the others to get a move on.

“No one is to ever speak of this, understood. Once you are done and sure the place is clean, take the drums out on the yacht to the cargo ship just off the port. They will know what to do with them.” I said as I walked to the door. The men scurried around, doing as they were told.

With that done, I could focus on the problem at hand: the hacker. I felt sure that Leo had found the invader by now as I headed to his place. Arriving at Leo’s, I saw a string of cars lined up outside. The family had gathered to sort out this mess, I thought as I walked in.

The women were all in the kitchen having tea, coffee, or juice while preparing food for lunch. Waving as I passed, I headed upstairs to Leo’s den. Entering, I noticed not everyone was present. Sergei was there, but Roman wasn’t. Then there was Ivan, Evelina, Luder, Leo, and me.

“Close the door behind you,” Leo said as I stepped inside.

“Have you found anything?” I replied as I closed the door and took a seat.

Evelina turned to me as she spoke. “We are still back tracing the hacker”s steps. It appears someone else has found our hacker though. But Ashan…” she fell quiet and glanced at Ivan.

“We were lucky. More details than expected were taken from some of the others, and it’s been leaked,” Ivan added.

Leaning forward to see Ivan clearly past Evelina, I asked just to be sure I heard right. “It’s been leaked. What do you mean?”

Leo glanced back at me from his place before the computer. “Our location of the den house is on the web for all to see, Ashan. But we will get to the bottom of it and do a cleanup.”

Feeling the blood draining from my face, I placed my head between my hands and took a couple of deep breaths. This wasn’t good; once information got out there, it was practically impossible to remove it. “How can I help?” I asked, rising.

“Well,” Leo said over his screen. “Once we have more, we will send out some men to check if the information is valid. You focus on rectifying the deal, and we’ll keep you updated.”

“Okay, already on it. See you later,” I said, heading out the door. I felt sick knowing there was nothing I could do to fix this. Even though it wasn’t my doing, we could all be in danger. This made my anger spike even more. The family had to be protected at any cost.

I took the backroads, heading back to my gambling den to make some calls. Parking in my usual spot, I sat for a bit, observing. I had worked hard the last couple of years to get this place up and running and now this.

I wasn’t sure how much time I would have to clear the place out or get someone to take it out of my hands. I sat and admired my handy work a bit. The place was a wreck when the family bought it. Now, it was one of the most popular gambling dens in the area.

At night, the lights fitted into the dome above lit up the entire area. It is a marvelous creation, even if I have to say so myself. Abandoning it would be a shame. There are three floors of entertainment. At the bottom, the entire place was fitted with the latest gambling machines, a food court, and a dance floor. The second floor consisted of the biggest variety of tables available in Miami and the top. Well, the top is the most impressive.

It included a five-star restaurant, pool area, topless bar, private dance rooms, and so much more. I felt my anger being replaced by a deep sorrow. Stepping out of my car, I slammed the door with force. “If I get my hands on the person responsible, I swear…” I spoke to the building before trailing off as my guards came over.

“Sir,” the tall, skinny one said as they came to stand before me. “There’s a call for you. It’s someone about the deal.”

Shoving past them, I entered the building quickly. As I moved to the stairs, I showed the lady at the desk to transfer the call to my office. When I entered my glass office on the second floor, the phone started ringing.

Taking a deep breath, I answered. “Ashan here; how can I assist.” I wasn’t prepared for the voice blaring back at me over the phone, and for a second, I held the handset out before me, staring at it.

“Ashan, Ashan, are you there?” It was the firstborn son of Mr. Castoia himself, Bonno. I had not expected him or anyone in the family to call. I would have thought they would have had one of their men, do it? But seems I was mistaken.

“Hi, Bonno; what can I do for you?” I inquired, keeping my tone as level as possible.

“Is Mr. Urgens still there?” he asked.

“Why, no, he left a couple of hours back,” I replied, rubbing my forehead. It felt like the start of a migraine. Sitting down, I pulled my meds from the top drawer and swallowed two pills.

“He is missing; we can’t find him, his car, his phone, or anything else. What was his state of mind when he left you?” Bonno continued.

Clearing my throat, I answered shortly, not wanting him to hear the irritation in my voice. “He seemed fine. He said he would get back to me on the details of the deal and left. Sorry, Bonno, but I have to go. Let me know if we can assist with anything else, okay?”

“Yes, okay, fine, thanks.” The reply came before the line went dead.