Chapter 506


    506


    Adrik


    Sephie’s old apartment was proving to be more useful than I ever would’ve imagined it would be. I


    originally kept it in case she ever changed her mind. I knew she was never going to change her mind at


    this point, but I still kept her apartment for the convenience of an out of the way meeting spot when I


    needed one.


    Chen met us downstairs. If nothing else, he was always early to every meeting he attended with us,


    proving once again that one could be professional no matter their profession. He was slightly taken


    aback, as Vitaliy and Battista were with us this time, which meant all of Vitaliy’s men were with us as


    well.


    “You guys are multiplying. This must be serious,” Chen said as he walked up to us in the parking lot of


    the apartment building.


    “Why use 6 Russians when 12 will do?” Sephie said, her mischievous grin on her face.


    “Hey, you miscounted, prettydy,” Boris said in his very thick Russian ent. Battista’s arms dealer


    turned out to be exactly who we thought it would be. Boris was so tough and crot*hety on first


    impressions that he made Vitaliy look like a nice guy.


    “My bad. We have a baker’s dozen, Chen. Because one can never have too many Russians on their


    side when the s*it hits the fan,” Sephie said, grinning at Boris. Like all of the men in her life, she found a


    way to politely put Boris in his ce when he tested her. Mostly polite. Afterward, he’s shown her


    nothing but respect.


    “This maybe lesson your country don’t learn too well,” Boris said,ughing as he walked to join the rest


    of Vitaliy’s men, who were unloading weapons from the back of their vehicles.


    Sephie and Chen looked at each other, trying not tough. “My entire life, I’ve beented that Russia is


    the enemy. Now I find out these people are just as crazy as we are, only muchrger, Chen said


    thoughtfully.


    “It’s the governments that are the enemy, Chen. Never the people,” I said, pulling Sephie with me


    toward the stairs to her old apartment. She looked at the building as we walked. I could feel her


    emotions as she remembered her life before she met ree.


    “It always looks so run-down when I see it now. It never used to seem that bad to me when I lived


    here,” she told me as we followed Andrei up the stairs.


    “When it’s all you have, you cherish it. It did its job. It got you through until you found me I told her.


    She turned to look at me, her sweet smile on her face. “I never thought about it like that before, but


    you’re absolutely right. I might love this dingey little apartment a little more right now,” she said.


    “I, for one, am grateful for it. It’s proven to be very useful,” I said, pulling her closer as walked into her


    apartment.


    “I, for one, am grateful for you,” she said, reaching up to kiss my cheek.


    Misha, who had followed us up the stairs, said, “I can feel you two being disgustingly cute right now.”


    Ivan, who was still in the parking lot, but heard Misha over his earpiece, startedughing. “I am so d


    I’m not the only one that’s happened to,” he said.


    Sephie’s cheeks turned red. She went to apologize, but Misha stopped her before she could even get it


    out. “Don’t apologize, gazelle. I’m having jealousy issues. That’s why I brought it up,” he said, grinning


    at her. She went to him,ughing as he ached down and picked her up in a bear hug.


    As everyone else finally made it upstairs, Sephie’s apartment got very small, very quickly. We


    eventually decided that Vitaliy’s men would stay outside, mostly to give us more room. We asked that


    all the leaders from the resistance in the city were there tonight, not just the ones from Niko and Vito’s


    area of the city. We wanted to make sure things were as quiet as we’d been told and we also wanted to


    make sure this everyone was as prepared as possible. It was clear that Sal cared nothing for the


    people of the city, given his brawn operation, so the idea that he would use the people of the city to


    cause more chaos was not off the table for him.


    Stephen, who was across the street monitoring things from above, alerted us to everyone’s arrival.


    Surprisingly, Dr. Williams showed up along with the rest this time. He was just as surprised to see us


    standing in the apartment as we were to see him walk through the door.


    Battistaughed, telling Sephie in Italian, “I knew I liked that doctor for a reason other than his


    willingness to ept massive donations.” She couldn’t help butugh isfore sharing the trantion with


    all of us silently.


    “Dr. Williams, it’s nice to see you here. Unexpected, but nice,” Sephie said as she went to shake his


    hand.


    “That feeling is mutual, although I don’t know why I would be surprised. Of course it’s you,” he said. “I


    think you enjoy your legend in the hospital more than you let


    on and you’re looking to add to it.”


    “I mean, who doesn’t want to be immortalized with a few legends told about them? no different,” she


    said, nonchntly. Dr. Williams justughed quietly, shaking his head as he moved off to the side.


    Both Ivan and I were somewhat ufortable with so many people in such a small stepped quietly


    behind both of us. I felt het hand find mine, which helped me keep step forward to begin the meeting.


    ice. Sephie, of course, felt it. After speaking briefly with the doctor, she


    murderous aura under control. I squeezed her hand lightly before taking one


    We discussed Niko and Vitoing back, as they were scheduled to arrive the follow day. “The reason


    you’re here, gentlemen, is that it will send a much bigger message to Sal, as well as the underbosses


    that are left in the city, if you stop them from collecting taxes once they return. We can and will support


    your efforts as much as possible, making sure you have everything you need to resist. The message 1


    be much clearer ifing from you, however,” I said. “The only request I make is that you leave Niko


    and Vito alive and hand them over to me.”


    “What happens after they’re gone? Are we just going to be fighting you next?” one dlder gentleman


    asked.


    I chuckled. “That would be somewhat foolish of me to provide you weapons for this or not expect you


    would use them on me should I attempt the same thingter,” I said. “Things will go back to the way


    they’ve been for years before the other bosses got greedy. I don’t need your taxes. Yourmunities


    do. The more money you make, the more you can invest in your local areas of the city. That’s what


    want and that’s what will happen once the other bosses are taken care of.”


    “How do we know you won’t change your mind?” someone else asked.


    “You don’t,” Sephie said. “But you do remember how good things were a few years ago,pared to


    now. This is a much bigger conspiracy than exorbitant taxes. Without the other bosses to harass you,


    you’ll essentially be left alone. Just like you were before.” She took one step closer to me, pointing at


    me, as she said, “he is not the problem here. The other bosses are the problem.”


    Dr. Williams, stepped forward, adding, “he’s the one that found the doctor that’s been terrorizing this


    city for a decade. You’ve all heard of someone that’s had some back-room procedure done on them.


    He’s the same doctor that created brawn, which has been guing the city for years as well. This man


    found that doctor when the police couldn’t. He’s on our side. He wouldn’t be here right now if he


    wasn’t.”


    “Why hasn’t the doctor been arrested then?” someone asked.


    “He will be, soon. We needed to make sure we had enough solid evidence that he would be convicted,”


    I said. “We have that, so now he can be handed over.”


    We continued our discussion, as well as making a strategy for how to handle the undebosses when


    theye to collect taxes once more. It would be dangerous, but the people had strength in numbers.


    It didn’t hurt that Boris had ess to enough power topletely level a block of the city in under two


    minutes.


    He was also willing to donate his supplies to the cause, which he very rarely did. Sephie had been


    worried that he would also supply the bosses with extra firepower, since I had told her he enjoyed


    arming both sides of a conflict.


    “Most conflicts do not include Ricardo De Luca,” Boris had said. “Whatever it takes to make sure his


    side is crushed, I will happily provide,” he had told her.


    She had studied him for a few minutes before answering, “is it wrong that I find your hatred of Ricardo


    to be one of your finest qualities?”


    Boris hadughed, but Vitaliy actually spoke up in Boris’s defense, telling her, “he’s such a bad guy,


    dkaya. Maybe a little rougher than some of us, but not a bad guy


    My father had known Bons for most of my life. Boris had helped him get out of a few ticky situations,


    even. Vitaliy spoke the truth. Boris wasn’t all bad. He just preferred everyone think the worst of him. It


    meant less effort he had to put in to nang an impression. When everyone thinks the worst of you, it’s


    easy to prove them right or wrong. Boris was simply saving his energy.


    Once a n was in ce, the weapons were loaded into their vehicles and everyone


    separately. Dr. Williams hung back for a few minutes before taking his leave,


    wanting to check in with Sephie one more time. He fought it most of the time, but there was still a


    scientific fascination with her after her time in the hospital that he couldn’t always suppress. It irritated


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