His Silent Obsession
EP 1
Strong hospital smell. Looks like I lived.
I try opening my eyes. It doesn’t work. The anesthesia is probably just starting to wear off. At least there is no more pain. There are hushed voices coming from my left, but they are subdued, and even though they sound familiar, I can’t recognize them.
？？？
No. He’s heavily sedated.
？？？
Yes. Unfortunately. The wounds on his chest were not that bad. They patched him up
？？？
We can always try again. Pin it on the Italians again
？？？
Too risky. People are loyal to the Pakhan. Anyone suspects me, and I’ll end up in a ditch.
？？？
Well, there might be a silver lining. The shrapnel shattered his knee.
？？？
Doctor said he won’t walk again. If someone more capable comes into the picture . . . people, no matter how loyal, will hardly stand behind a pakhan who’s in a wheelchair when presented with a better option
？？？
Well, I guess we did well after all.
There are two sets of steps leaving, and then a door closes.
EP 2
There are never enough drugs.
I put the sheet filled with notes on the pile of papers on my desk and focus on the numbers on the laptop screen.
Rodion Ivanov/ML
Call Sergei
I lean back in my wheelchair and look at Maxim, who is sitting on the other side of my desk
Rodion Ivanov/ML
I need him to arrange two additional shipments this month
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
He already negotiated the quantities with Mendoza for the quarter. I’m not sure the Mexicans can double it on such short notice
Rodion Ivanov/ML
They will. Now, tell me what the f**k happened because I know that look well, and I know I won’t like the answer
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
Samuel Grey embezzled three million dollars. Our money
Rodion Ivanov/ML
*Sigh and shake his head*
Rodion Ivanov/ML
Who is Samuel Grey, why did he have access to our money, and how did he manage to do that?
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
Our real estate mediator. The money was meant for buying two more lots near the north warehouse. Grey thought he could borrow our money for a week for some investment which ended up being a Ponzi scheme.
How much of an idiot a person would have to be to steal from the Bratva? Sometimes I’m amazed by people’s stupidity.
Rodion Ivanov/ML
Can he pay it back?
Rodion Ivanov/ML
Kill him. And make an example out of him
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
I had something else in mind. People . . . people are starting to talk, Rodion. We need a distraction, fast. I think Grey can provide that distraction
Rodion Ivanov/ML
Oh? And what have they been talking about?
I’ve known Maxim since he started working for my father two decades ago, as a foot soldier. The old pakhan never could determine a person’s potential. Wasting a man as capable as Maxim by assigning him to basic fieldwork was one of many mistakes I corrected the moment I became pakhan twelve years ago. Right after I killed the bastard.
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
You. Still being unmarried
Rodion Ivanov/ML
But that’s not all, is it? What else?
Rodion Ivanov/ML
*Narrow his eyes*
He’s not looking at me, his gaze focused on something on the wall behind me
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
There are rumors that you won’t be able to run the Bratva much longer and someone else will take your place. Someone more . . . physically able
Rodion Ivanov/ML
And do you share their opinion?*raised his one eyebrow*
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
Do not insult me, Rodion. You know I’ve always stood by you, and I’ll keep doing so. Even if I don’t think you’re the most capable pakhan the Bratva ever had. But you’ve been holed up here for three months. You haven’t been to any of our clubs to check on the operations like you did at least once a month before the explosion. And you haven’t been seen with a woman
Rodion Ivanov/ML
So the status of my se× life is a better indicator of my ability to run the Bratva than the fact that we doubled our profit the last two months?
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
People need the feel of stability, Rodion. They still remember how your father took over the previous pakhan’s place and the chaos that followed. The Bratva lost more than fifty people to internal skirmishes, and the business was devastated. They need to know that it won’t happen again.
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
A wife means there will be an heir who will be ready to take over your place when the time comes, without internal war or people dying
Rodion Ivanov/ML
I will not tie myself to some random woman for life just to pacify our ranks
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
Let me show you something
Maxim takes out his phone and starts scrolling
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
My daughter went to school with Samuel’s daughter. They weren’t close friends or anything, but they hung out together often, and I remember her showing me the videos she took. I asked her to send me one of those last night when I heard what Samuel Grey did
Rodion Ivanov/ML
What would videos of teenagers have to do with my ability to lead the Bratva?
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
Well, she’s not a teenager anymore. Natalia Grey finished art studies at The Art Institute here in Chicago in two years instead of four, and she’s currently the most sought-after young artist in the country. Her paintings sell for four figures each
Rodion Ivanov/ML
So what, we’ll hire her to paint us a family portrait?
Rodion Ivanov/ML
*Pinch the bridge of my nose*
Rodion Ivanov/ML
You are barely fifty. Are you going senile prematurely?
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
We aren’t hiring her to paint us a portrait. We will be blackmailing her. Her father’s life for her services
Rodion Ivanov/ML
To do what?
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
To marry you, Roman. Well, temporarily at least
EP 3
I stare at my second in command for a few seconds and then burst out laughing
Rodion Ivanov/ML
You are out of your mind
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
Am I??
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
And what does the therapist say? About your leg
Rodion Ivanov/ML
He expects me to be able to regain up to eighty percent of its use
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
What does that mean?
Rodion Ivanov/ML
It means crutches in the worst-case scenario. A cane in the best
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
That’s good. How much time are we talking about? A month?
Rodion Ivanov/ML
*Grind his teeth*
Rodion Ivanov/ML
At least six more months of physical therapy
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
Shit, Rodion
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
We can’t wait that long. We need something now, or we’ll have riots
I look out the window and sigh. Maxim is usually always right.
Rodion Ivanov/ML
You’re saying it’s either me having two functioning legs or a wife? I won’t be walking any time soon, Maxim
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
Well, in that case, we’re getting you a wife until you do
Rodion Ivanov/ML
That’s ridiculous. I can’t blackmail a woman I don’t know into pretending to be my wife for six months, especially one who has no connection to our world.
Rodion Ivanov/ML
She’ll probably be scared shitless. No one will buy that
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
Watch this
Maxim says and thrusts his phone into my hand. The video is grainy, probably because it was taken years ago, but the lighting is good and I can see the inside of a room with several teenagers sitting in a semicircle, their backs to the camera
The only person whose face is visible is a dark-haired girl sitting cross-legged before the audience. The camera zooms in, bringing her unusual features into focus. Someone in her family must be of Asian descent because there is a slight tilt to her eyes, which makes them appear cat-like. I wonder what she looks like now.
？？？
Can you do Mrs. Nolan?
？？？
When she talks about her cats?
Natalia Grey/FL/14 year old
Again?*groan*
Natalia Grey/FL/14 year old
How about someone new? Maybe a politician?
There is a collective sound of displeasure and several teens shout
Natalia Grey/FL/14 year old
Mrs. Nolan!
She Shakes her head then smiles and closes her eyes. When she opens them a few seconds later and starts talking, I find myself pulling the phone closer, completely in awe.
She’s speaking, but I don’t pay attention to the actual words. I’m completely absorbed in watching the mimicry on her face, the way her right eye trembles slightly when she speaks, how she accentuates the words. All of a sudden, it’s like she’s a completely different person.
Rodion Ivanov/ML
How old is she in this video?
I ask without removing my eyes from the screen
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
Fourteen. Amazing, isn’t she?
In the video, someone shouts another name and points to a girl sitting at the end of the semicircle. Natalia Grey laughs, closes her eyes in concentration, and then starts a new act. Again, she takes on a completely new persona, her posture, the way her hands move while she talks. The girl on the side watches her, then laughs and covers her face with her hand. Natalia replicates the motion to the detail, even the way the girl’s shoulders rise a little while she laughs. I don’t think I ever witnessed something like that.
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
As you can see, there shouldn’t be any problems with her pretending to be anything you need her to be
Rodion Ivanov/ML
You are serious about this?
I still find this idea of his completely idiotic.
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
Desperate times require desperate measures, Rodion. We need to shut down the rumors, and we need to do it now
Maxim/Pakhan's Advisor
In that case, the wife it is.
Rodion Ivanov/ML
I slam the laptop closed
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