Chapter 27 27

Chapter 27 27

It was a sunny morning in the estate. The sun pierced across the room, casting light on Ivan’s face. He sat with Dimitri, expecting a guest; Roderigo.

“Have you been able to find out any information about the tattoo?” Dimitri asked.
“Not yet,” Ivan said, leaning back in his chair. “But I know I will very soon. Something tells me I’ve seen it before, but I can’t quite place where exactly.” Ivan checked his wristwatch, the ticking seconds matching the impatience building inside him.
“It’s a very strange tattoo, I must say,” Ivan said.
“It is,” Dimitri agreed. “Been meaning to ask, what’s your plan for Katrina?”
“How do you mean?” Ivan asked.
“Well, you haven’t quite said anything about her. Is the investigation still ongoing, or are you just going to have another marriage?”
“A remarriage? Why?”
“Come on, Ivan. The young lady is your wife. You were practically estranged, now she’s back, why not renew your vows?”
“Uncle, it seems like you haven’t been following what’s going on. I can’t possibly want to have her as my wife knowing all that had happened.”
“So that means you’re continuing with your investigation?” Dimitri asked.
“Yes, and I don’t intend to stop now,” Ivan replied coldly.
“Be honest, how has it been for you?”
Ivan got up, walked to his bookshelf, picked out a book, and returned to his seat.
“It’s been hard. Not the kind of hard that makes me run away but the kind that ignites a fire in me to dig deeper.”
“So you still think she’s the reason behind everything?” Dimitri asked.
“Well, yes. Not that I have any evidence to prove it, but I can’t just live with her like everything’s back to normal, knowing full well it isn’t.” He answered.
“You don’t necessarily have to do this, you know. Considering she has amnesia.”
“Before her amnesia, who was she? You seem to forget that.” Ivan’s tone hardened. “And if she never had an accident, then there’s more to the story.”
Dimitri sat up, startled. “There was no accident? Where did you get that information?”
“Trusted source.” Ivan said adjusting in his seat.“No accident, no amnesia! She’s hiding something and pretending at the same time. I don’t know why, and I don’t know who sent her.”
Dimitri stayed silent for a while, trying to process the news. It sounded strange to his ears.
Just then, the door opened and Roderigo entered.
“Just the man I was waiting for.”
He walked in, shook their hands, and sat down.
“It’s been ages,” Roderigo began. “Look at you, business seems to be going well.”
“We do our best,” Ivan replied.
“Not with your security being messed up. That’s kind of a low blow for Ivan, isn’t it?”
Ivan chuckled, catching the sarcasm in Roderigo’s tone. Roderigo wasn’t exactly his go-to person, but because of his efficiency, he preferred to work with him.
“Thank God you’re here,” Ivan said, soothing his ego.
“You got that right. I’m here to save your ass. So, what’s the situation we’re looking at?” Roderigo inquired.
“Compromised security. We’ve had more random attacks, and this time, they’re actually breaking in.” Ivan replied.
“Okay. Nothing a little tightening up of security can’t fix.”
“I need more than that,” Ivan said. “I want our security men trained for the days ahead. I don’t just want tight security. I want them ready to respond effectively when threats happen.”
“Smart move,” Roderigo lifted one finger “but what if one of them happens to switch sides, your security would be as weak as it was in the beginning,” Roderigo said.
“You think so?”
“Well, yeah. What we need first is a thorough screening of all your security, background checks, and everything. Let’s find what we can use against them in case any of them decides to switch camps” Roderigo suggested.
“That’s a fantastic idea. So does that mean you’re on it, for us?” Ivan asked.
“Oh, come on. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t with you in the first place.” Roderigo replied with a smirk.
“Let’s get to work.”

Roderigo and Ivan went around conducting a mini search across all the security points. Roderigo made notes in his notebook, marking a few things as they moved along. It was a detailed and well-executed security mapping. They identified areas where security needed improvement, grey zones, and weak points that required focus, while Dimitri joined them in the inspection.
After a while, Dimitri stepped away briefly.
“I heard about Felix’s death,” Roderigo said breaking the tension.
“All the way out there?” Ivan asked.
“Word travels fast. I’m so sorry. That must’ve been really painful, considering how much of a bond you both built. I was a bit jealous of how close you and Felix were, especially because you and I  were classmates.” Roderigo replied.
“I can’t believe you’re still holding on to that.”
“It’s not like I’m holding on to it. Talking about Felix just brought the memory back.”
“So what happened? How did he die?”
“The word that travels fast doesn’t always come with details.” Ivan gave a short laugh. “It was a fire accident.”
“I’m guessing it happened when he was trying to burn one of the bodies?”
“Yeah, you guessed right. But I don’t think it was a careless accident.”
Ivan stepped closer. “I think it was planned.”
“Planned? Are we talking about a murder case?”
“Something like that.”
“Give me the details.”
“Wrong fuel tank. The moment he lit the fire, the whole thing exploded, right in his face.”
“Oops… whoever you were trying to bury hit right back at you.”
“That’s what I’m guessing. But the bodies had no traceable information we could link to. I shot one of the guys, while the other committed suicide. There wasn’t enough time to get any real information about who they were or why they came after me.” Ivan said.
“They definitely did you dirty there… put you in a spot where you have no idea who the mastermind is. I’d hate to be in that position.” Roderigo said.
“Not completely,” Ivan said in a whisper. “I found something. Felix managed to take a photo before he died. I’ll show you when we get to my office.”
“Okay, sure.”
Just then, Dimitri walked back to join them.
“Boys, there you are. I turned back at the tower and found you were already ahead of me.”
“You need to keep up, Uncle,” Ivan teased.
“I’m getting old.”
“Old?” Roderigo laughed. “With all that fire in you? You’re just getting younger.”
The three of them laughed as they headed back toward the building.

Ivan poured Roderigo a glass of fine wine and handed it to him as they both took their seats. Roderigo did the customary thing done with wine; swirling, smelling, and giving it a small taste.
“My father’s favorite,” he said with a smile.
“You mean my father,” Ivan argued.
They both laughed.
Ivan unlocked his safe drawer and brought out a photo of the tattoo, a snake in a woman’s mouth, and showed it to Roderigo.
Roderigo looked at it carefully, his fingers tracing the image and squinting as if it rang a bell.
“I’ve seen this before…” Roderigo murmured unsure.
“Really? You have? Where?” Ivan leaned forward.
“Give me a minute, let me make a call,” Roderigo said.
Roderigo picked up his phone and dialed a number. He spoke in Spanish, words Ivan didn’t understand.
“Hello, I need you to check something for me quickly,” Roderigo said. “Have you ever come across a tattoo of a snake in a woman’s mouth?” He asked.
“No, I haven’t,” came the voice on the other end.
“Okay. But do you know where I can get information on what the tattoo means?” Roderigo pressed further.
“The tattoo was drawn on who? Spanish, Russian, Latin…who?” the man asked.
Roderigo repeated the question to Ivan, who now began to understand Roderigo.
A flashback of the accident ran through Ivan’s mind. He remembered clearly, one of the men who attacked him spoke Russian. 
“Russian,” Ivan said, and then paused. “Freshly drawn tattoo" Ivan added.
“Can you tell what ink was used for the tattoo?” Roderigo relayed the next question.
“Obsidian Black” Ivan replied after thinking for a while.
“How the hell do you know that?” Roderigo asked.
“There are tons of things you don’t know about me,” Ivan said, his ego glaring.
“Obsidian Black?” The man echoed back “Only a few artists use that particular ink here in London. I’ll send you their numbers and addresses, and you can check them out.”
Roderigo nodded, repeating the same message to Ivan.
“We need to go find the tattoo artist,” Roderigo suggested. “If we can find the artist, it would give us a clue about who the guys are”
“How about we go now?” Ivan asked.
“Right now?” 
“Uhm… yes”
“Breathe Ivan, breathe… We can’t go without an address”
Immediately Roderigo’s phone beeped. Three addresses. 
“You owe me,” Roderigo added with a smirk.
“Anything,” Ivan replied. He didn’t care, if this lead could reveal where the tattoo came from, he was willing to do whatever it took.
But as they stepped out, neither of them noticed the black car parked across the street, engine running, lights off, watching them.