Several sedans were parked, and only one was standing guard, likely the one with the lowest rank in the mafia. The others who had arrived in the same car seemed to have already gone inside. The old garage behind the cars was the meeting location today.
Taekjoo and Zhenya had long arrived, waiting in the vicinity. They were keeping an eye out, figuring out the right time to head in. They waited a moment longer, in case anything went wrong. But there weren’t any latecomers or backups coming to ambush them.
Taekjoo checked his Colt for bullets, and Zhenya also dropped the cigar he’d been smoking. Once the cigar stopped rolling, both of them stepped forward.
He took big strides while pulling the trigger. Two bullets flew from his Colt, which had a silencer. However, the vehicles had bulletproof windows, so the glass didn’t break right away. The front window just had a crack in the shape of a spider web. The lone guard quickly put out his cigarette and pulled out his rifle.
The rifle was already trained on Taekjoo—then it happened. The car shook with a loud noise. It seemed that something like a boulder had fallen above the car. Before the guard could figure out what was happening, something broke the cracked window and rushed in. In one swift motion, the guard was dragged out by the collar. Taekjoo looked away as soon as he confirmed that Zhenya had laid his hands on the mafia guy. He was going to have nightmares if he kept watching.
It didn’t take long for Zhenya to walk back to Taekjoo. Taekjoo pulled out a handkerchief and chucked it at his partner, who wiped his hands clean on the cloth. The white fabric quickly turned red.
In the meantime, Taekjoo scanned the old garage. Inside was the Sonchev man. Taekjoo had no proof that the weapon under development was indeed Anastasia. But he was determined to find out—by beating the crap out of the man, if necessary.
Taekjoo took a quick glance at Zhenya, and their eyes locked. Taekjoo nodded, a gesture to enter the facility. Zhenya smiled quietly.
He opened the door and stepped inside. A flurry of dust clouded his vision. Taekjoo had to wave his hands around to get better visuals. Office supplies and construction materials were lying around everywhere. The walls, built with bricks, were chipped away here and there. A big hole was gaping in the ceiling.
And in the middle of all this chaos, a middle-aged Russian man was sitting. Taekjoo knew immediately that the man was Boris, an important figure within Sonchev. Behind him, six jacked men were standing like a fortress. They were simply facing each other only briefly, but the air was already thick with tension.
What was unexpected was Boris’s reaction. He didn’t seem taken back at all that the one who had summoned him here was not Bogdanov. Rather, he had a look of curiosity in his eyes, which was quickly replaced by an entertained smile.
“A bit late, aren’t we?”
Boris started the conversation.
“I heard about the mess last night at the Bogdanov residence. I heard rumors it was you, but I couldn’t believe them. Well, it seems that the rumors were true.”
Boris looked straight at Zhenya. He must have been told of what happened last night. Zhenya neither denied nor acknowledged the accusation. He simply smirked and shrugged. This was not their first time meeting, which was understandable, seeing how both were big names in the underworld.
Boris looked at Taekjoo, scanning him from head to toe. Then, he put on a questioning look. He moved his eyes back to Zhenya, as if he was seeking an explanation.
“Why are you doing this?”
“A great deal of fun for me.”
Zhenya grinned. His tone was too casual and light for someone who was turning the entire house of Bogdanov—and the entire Russia—into his enemy. Should he succeed, yes, he would amass fortune no one had ever owned before. But to get there, he would have to go through numerous obstacles. Boris summed up the tiny sliver of possibility.
“Reckless.”
“Brave, most people would say.”
Zhenya chuckled again, entirely unfazed. Boris shook his head, then looked at Taekjoo. Why him?—it was the question written in Boris’s eyes. It didn’t offend Taekjoo. Rather, he’d find it much more offensive to be considered as the likes of Zhenya.
There was nothing holding him back from joining the conversation.
“Enough with the chitchat—let’s talk business. Anastasia—where is it?”
Did the question catch them off guard? Or was it a direct hit? Boris lifted his eyebrow and expressed confusion.
“Anastasia? Why would you ask me for Anastasia?”
So his first plan was to fake ignorance. Well played, since Taekjoo had no proof that SS-29 was Anastasia. He also didn’t expect to get the truth on the first try.
“Oh, are you more familiar with the name SS-29? I have a couple of questions to ask regarding the weapon.”
“I was wondering what had brought on a mouse to walk into a trap. That’s it? You’re either extremely dumb or bold. You didn’t think I’d just spill everything to you, right?”
“Well, if that’s how you want it, then I guess we’ll have to use body language.”
Taekjoo hadn’t even finished speaking when a bullet whizzed past him. He dove and rolled behind a stack of construction materials for cover. A hail of bullets followed, kicking up a thick cloud of dust that quickly blurred the scene. No one could see or hear properly, and they still kept shooting.
Taekjoo threw in teargas while waiting for the right time to retaliate. Black smoke engulfed the room within seconds, and Taekjoo took advantage of the moment to shoot down the ceiling lights one by one. The fluorescent lights shattered, sending shards of glass raining down. All hell broke loose in an instant. Shots were fired here and there, and someone started screaming. Someone definitely fractured something.
Taekjoo couldn’t find Zhenya, but it didn’t worry him. If there was one person who would survive under any circumstances, it was Zhenya. The only thing Taekjoo had to worry about was his own safety.
Taekjoo pulled out his specialized goggles. Once he put them on, the motion detectors kicked in, marking the positions of the mafia gunmen. He took aim and shot the burly men, disoriented and unable to tell friend from foe.
“Argh!”
“Ah!”
One by one, Taekjoo took down the dark figures in his vision, each screaming as they collapsed. Taekjoo advanced all the way to the spot where Boris was sitting earlier.
However, Boris was no longer there. Taekjoo glanced around, looking for the man, but he was nowhere to be found. And so was Zhenya.
Taekjoo scrutinized the place, slowly scanning it with his eyes. It hadn’t been that long when he felt the back of his neck turn stiff. Taekjoo looked back and found a shadow rushing to him. He avoided out of instinct, but still couldn’t avoid the sharp slice across his arm. His sleeve turned wet. Someone seemed to have sliced him with a knife. Taekjoo quickly backed up and aimed for the opponent’s head, but he didn’t pull the trigger right away. If this man was Boris and Taekjoo shot him, then the entire trip here would be turned useless.
While he hesitated, the opponent sliced the open air, a clear strike aimed at Taekjoo’s neck. Taekjoo bent backward and avoided the continuous assault. Then, a shadow by the door kept creeping into his peripheral vision.