Chapter 114 Chapter 114
Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen
Dimitri
"Any word yet?" I asked for the hundredth time.
Sergei shook his head. "Not yet. Petrov is still waiting for the hiring call."
I paced my back and forth in my office.
It had been four days since Irina and Nikolai left.
Four days of absolute torture.
"Maybe we should not wait," I said. "Maybe we should just start searching every property Alexei owns."
"He has dozens of properties," Mikhail pointed out. He had come to help coordinate the search. "It would take weeks. Maybe months."
"Then we take weeks!" I shouted. "I cannot just sit here doing nothing!"
"You are not doing nothing," Sergei said calmly. "You are being smart and strategic."
"I feel useless," I admitted.
"You are preparing," Mikhail corrected. "When Petrov gets inside, he will need support, resources and an escape plan."
"If he gets inside," I said bitterly.
"He will," Sergei said confidently.
I wanted to believe him.
My phone rang.
I grabbed it immediately. "Yes?"
"Boss," a voice said. It was one of my street informants. "I have news."
"What news?" I demanded.
"There is a hiring happening tomorrow," the man said. "For guards and servants. The location is the old market square, by ten in the morning."
My heart started racing. "You are sure?"
"Positive, boss," he confirmed. "Word is spreading fast. Lots of men are looking for work."
"Thank you," I said. I hung up and looked at Sergei and Mikhail.
"It is happening," I said. "Tomorrow morning."
Sergei stood up. "I will get Petrov ready."
"Make sure his cover is solid," I ordered. "Everything has to be perfect."
"It will be," Sergei promised.
He left to find Petrov.
I turned to Mikhail. "What if this does not work? What if Alexei sees through the disguise?"
"Then we find another way," Mikhail said simply.
"There might not be another way," I said.
"There is always another way," Mikhail replied. "You just have to be willing to find it."
I nodded. But inside, I was terrified.
This was our best chance. Maybe our only chance.
If Petrov failed, I did not know what I would do.
The next morning came too slowly. I could not sleep. I just paced and waited.
Petrov came to my office at dawn.
He looked different, Roughe, like a man who had been out of work for months, desperate for money.
It was perfect.
"Are you ready?" I asked.
"Yes, boss," Petrov replied. "I have my papers. My story. Everything."
"Remember," I said seriously. "You are there to gather information. Nothing more. Do not take risks. Do not try to be a hero."
"Understood, boss," Petrov said.
"And if you feel like your cover is blown," I continued. "You get out. Immediately. Your life is more important than information."
"With all due respect, sir," Petrov said. "Mrs. Volkov's life is more important than mine."
I felt my throat tighten. "Just be careful."
"I will," Petrov promised.
He left at eight to get to the market square early and blend in with the other men seeking work.
I stayed in my office, watching the clock.
Somewhere across the city, Petrov was standing in a crowd of desperate men, hoping to be chosen, hoping to infiltrate my brother's home.
Time flew by. Noon came, and I had still not gotten any word.
"It takes time," Sergei said. He had stayed with me, knowing I would go insane alone.
"What if they did not choose him?" I asked.
"They will," Sergei said. "Petrov has good references. A military background. He is exactly what they are looking for."
Evening came and still nothing.
I was starting to lose hope.
And then my phone rang.
It was an unknown number.
I answered immediately. "Yes?"
"Boss." It was Petrov. His voice was low and quiet. "I am in."
Relief flooded through me. "You got hired?"
"Yes, sir," Petrov confirmed. "I am starting tonight. They are taking all the new staff to the villa now."
"Where is it?" I demanded. "Where is the villa?"
Petrov gave me coordinates. A remote location two hours outside Moscow.
"Can you talk?" I asked.
"Not for long," Petrov said. "We are in a van. But everyone is tired. No one is paying attention."
"When you see Irina…" I whispered. urgently.
"Yes sir," Petrov replied. "I will look for her as soon as I get there."
"And Nikolai?" I added.
"I will find them both," Petrov promised. "I will keep them safe."
"Thank you," I said. My voice was thick with emotion. "Thank you, Petrov."
"I have to go, sir," Petrov said quickly. "Someone is looking this way."
The line went dead.
I lowered the phone and looked at Sergei.
"He is in," I said.
Sergei smiled. "I knew he would make it."
I pulled up a map on my computer and entered the coordinates Petrov had given me
.
The villa appeared. Remote and isolated, surrounded by forest.
It was the perfect prison.
"Two hours away," I said. "Close enough to reach. But far enough that Alexei feels safe."
"What do you want to do?" Mikhail asked.
"Let's watch," I said. "And wait to gather information. And when the time is right, we strike."
"Agreed," Mikhail said.
I stared at the map. At the dot representing where my family was being held.
"I am coming, Irina," I whispered. "Just hold on a little longer."
Hours passed.
Petrov sent updates when he could, short messages, coded carefully.
"Package secure. Both items accounted for."
That meant he had seen Irina and Nikolai. They were alive.
"Conditions poor. Item one distressed."
Irina was suffering. I had known she would be. But hearing it confirmed made my blood boil.
"Item two unwell. Needs specialist."
Nikolai was sick and I could not help him.
I wanted to storm the villa right then. Damn the consequences.
But Mikhail talked me down.
"You go in unprepared and you will get them killed," he said bluntly. "Is that what you want?"
"Of course not," I snapped.
"Then wait," Mikhail said.
So I waited.
Even though every day felt like an eternity.
A week after Petrov infiltrated, I got a longer message.
"Boss. Situation critical. A is making demands on I. She agreed to protect baby. Need extraction plan soon."
I read the message three times.
Alexei was making demands on Irina.
What kind of demands?
I did not want to think about it.
But I knew what Alexei was capable of.
My blood boiled.
"We move now," I told Sergei and Mikhail.
"We are not ready," Mikhail protested.
"I do not care," I said. "We move now.
Tonight."
"Dimitri…"
"That is an order!" I roared. "Get the men ready. We leave in two hours."
Sergei and Mikhail exchanged a look.
Then Sergei nodded. "Yes, Dmitri."
They left to prepare.
I stood alone in my office, staring at the map.
"Tonight," I said out loud. "Tonight I am bringing you home."
I had no idea if we would succeed. We might not even survive.
But I knew one thing for certain.
I was not leaving without my family.
Not this time.
Never again.