Page 65 of Shadows of the Past
All the pieces fall into place, and I understand now why he attacked the property. After Julia saved her, Ivan sent the girl to one of his associates, as a "gift" for a favor. I don't even know if she's still alive or not, but what amazes me is Ivan's carelessness in this regard. It's the first time he's taken someone important.
For a second, my thoughts fly to Ilya and—...but no, that was premeditated. Here, I'd bet all my money that it was pure carelessness. Because normally, all the kids who end up here are from poor families or orphanages. Kids whom no one will worrytoo much about if they go missing or are found mutilated or dead.
"What if his daughter is still alive?" Julia's voice echoes, and Akim and I look at her.
If she's alive, I don't know how whole she is after two years with a monster, but I already know what she's suggesting.
"Put me in contact with him, Akim."
"Max, he could shoot you on the spot."
Maybe, but if there's even the smallest chance that his daughter is alive, I already know he'll listen to me. This man found out about Ivan. This man managed to attack him. And he's exactly the kind of person I need by my side as an ally when I take down the monster who marked my life and the lives of so many others.
After two hours of trying to establish a connection with the server that took down our communications, we get a response. An address.
"I'm coming with you," Julia says while she taps something at the laptop, and even if I wanted to say no, I don't trust leaving her in the house now.
Spirits are agitated, and Ivan's on alert. He saw her protect me, but I have no guarantee that he won't try something against her later.
"You want me to come too?" Akim asks me.
"No. Confirm the transport details with Ilya and update him on the news."
I want to make a battle plan, but the meeting is in two hours, and if we want to get there on time, we should leave in ten minutes. The meeting point is a house in a small town nearZelenograd. Public enough not to incite violence, but secluded enough in case of escalations.
"Take the machine gun with you," I tell Julia, and she nods.
I put a few grenades in my backpack, along with some small precision knives in case the discussions don't go so well.
The house is still in turmoil, and just as we're about to leave, we run into Aleksandr.
"Well, well. The hero of the day." His words are said mockingly, but I choose to ignore him.
He's not worth me rearranging his nose with my fist. Not now, but it's the way he analyzes Julia's body that makes me growl at him.
"If you like having your eyeballs still attached to your head, I'd suggest you move your gaze away from her."
For a moment, I see a shadow of uncertainty in his eyes, but it disappears, pushed aside by the stupidity that wants to come out of his mouth.
"How long are you going to keep her just for yourself? Don't tell me we have a new Vera on our hands; we all know how much you cried after the last one."
The fact that he said her name makes me lose the thread of reason I was clinging to. My hand is already around the blade I always have at the back of my pants, and I press it to his throat, where I feel his artery pulsing.
He was there when Vera was assaulted, and he did nothing; probably enjoyed hearing her cries. He was there when the gun was put in my hand and they forced me to put a bullet through my soul.
For years, I've tried to justify his behavior based on the idea that he, like the rest of us, was exposed to too much violenceand blood to be normal. But he wasn't abused like we were. Somehow Ivan wasn't "attracted" to him as he was to me and the others.
For a few moments, darkness floods my mind. I see my hands bound tightly with rope, feel the searing of cigarettes being extinguished on my back.
“I chose you because, like me, you have a defective heart, son.”His words from that moment invade every cell, making me want to rip this organ right out of my chest. This piece of flesh sealed my fate, just because he has a heart defect, too.
In the turmoil raging inside my head, a touch on my shoulder cuts through like a sliver of light.
“Max, he’s not worth it.” Julia’s voice pierces the fog. As my vision clears, I see Aleksandr on the ground, blood welling from the cut the blade left across his neck.
He’s not worth the trouble now. His day will come, a day when Ivan won’t be there to protect him. And then, I’ll make sure he pays. He’ll pay for every single abuse he inflicted, every wound, every soul he helped break.
We’ve barely made it to the car when I hear the idiot shouting behind us.
