Chapter 5: The Duo Returns.

Not since that night had either me or Silas tried to rebuild our ties with the people in Dogtown. Things usually take time to get close to normal, what with a showdown between two gangs and a heavy conscience, neither of us had the ability to regain our lost paths.

But since Mylene walked into my home and put down 100 large on my table, with that look in her eyes, I felt strangely rejuvenated to get back on the map. So I decided it was time to get back to the grind and do this job right. Besides, if I was going to go meet Vadim the next morning, I should enjoy this night like there was no tomorrow.

I walked down to the garage and finally called up on my car after 2 years in hibernation. This car was my baby, back since I had been in the force, I had kept the car as my wheels. And once I made detective and I got out of the police coffin-on-wheels this car had helped me and Silas a number of times. It was an old Chevy hard-top. Nothing too flashy, just soot black. It had helped us meld into the night on uncountable watches and the fact that the door had 3 bullet holes always served as conversation piece with the ladies.

I got into the drivers seat for the first time in 2 years. I suddenly felt a surge of nostalgia at my partner sitting next to me. The days of being a cop, the badge, the gun and a clean town. The days before the battle. Before megalomaniacal sons-of-bitches decided to fuck up the order of things. I stopped that train of thought before it spoiled the night for me. I decided to pick up Silas on the way, maybe his business could run without him for a night.

I took the car out of the garage and hit the gas as I headed towards 6^th. Silas’ place was bustling at this time. Business looked good. I walked in through the front door, doing the routine dance and dodge. Silas was reading a book on the sofa in the back. One of his men was in the middle of a deal with a couple of neighborhood small gang members. The ones who wanted to make it big on the crime scene but only got dead or caught before they could do anything. One of the kids wanted a sub machine gun of some sort, and I noticed the other two looking fidgety.

Silas always had himself and 3 other guys in the shop at all time. The gun business called on dirt gangsters trying to get a free deal. The accepted payment was only by cash, some of them tried to pay in lead. Like these fools who thought they could rob the Devils Home.

The apparent leader of the comical three pulled a magazine from nowhere and loaded the gun he was checking out. “Nobody move, just give us the guns we need and no one has to die here.” Silas didn’t even care to stop reading.

“You just did the stupidest thing for a stupid person to do in this part of town.” I spoke up, making Silas look up from the book he was reading. “You fools have just 2 options here. You either get shot in the face or you walk out that door with the gun in your hand get shot in the back of your head. Either way, the three of you are dead.”

“And who’s gonna do that Mister Wiseguy? If you haven’t noticed I’m the one holding a sub machine gun in your face. All I have to do is press this little thing here and I blow you to kingdom come.” He pointed at the trigger and saying so he pressed down on it.

It was moment too long before he realized the gun didn’t fire. Silas was a smart man as I kept repeating. He always shifted the hammer in all his guns so that they won’t fire if some idiot on testosterone decides to rob his shop with his own gun.

The kids realized they were dead. Anyone who’s seen that realization dawn on someone will never forget the face. The color drains when you know that you’re going to die in the immediate future. The fear of death becomes apparent in the person’s eyes. It’s true what they say, in their final moments a man’s true character becomes clear. Silas’ men rounded off the kids and took them out back. Not a lucky day for the three of them.

“Don’t worry, they won’t kill ‘em. Just rough them up a bit and let ‘em go.” Silas seems to read my mind at times. “So to what do we owe the honor this time? Got any more mob women waltzing into your life?”

“Nah, I just realized it’s been a while since the Vodka Lounge saw the likes of us.” Vodka Lounge was the nightclub in South Dogtown. It was considered the best club in Dogtown, and we used to be well known down there. It also happened to be owned by Vadim, and run by Mylene.

“Well, well, well. Paying your ‘client’ a little visit eh? How did Vic Sullivan finally get off his ass and decide to get out for a night? You haven’t been told you got cancer or anything is it?”

“Nothing like that, I just realized we should reconnect to the old times if I’m gonna do this job well. And also the fact is, I need your help with this, it’s gonna get bigger than what I thought it would be.” I told him about Sergey’s visit and also about Mike. If anyone Silas was the one person who would know if anything big is happening. Especially if the top men of both gangs are snooping about my life, I could use a friend like Silas.

“So, it seems you’ve suddenly become quite popular with the wrong people. Just today some new buyer was asking about you. And the word on the street is already out that you got a new job. And to tell you the truth,” I never liked it when he said that, it gave an ominous feeling to the complete sentence, “this isn’t really the best time for rumors going around town.”

“What rumors? Vad knows I’m on a clean slate with him, and the Mike trusts me enough that the Lombardi’s wont get their hands messy with me.” I knew both of these things for a fact. Except a meeting from Sergey had a way of putting people on edge.

“Vic, the rumor is not so much a rumor as a lot of things happening at the same time. There’s news that a new player is entering Dogtown. Trying to capitalize on the chaos caused by the Russian and the Italians. And the rumor says, that the person he’s going to, is you.” This was bad, if the Mob and Family thought that I was helping some other player, then they had every right to get suspicious about me. “On top of that, you’re back on the street since the night of the raid, and you tell me you’ve got a meeting from Mylene Rivers, and you and I both know how well she can be trusted.”

“I know I can trust her at this point Silas, right now it seems I’m going to have to trust a lot of people wether I like it or not. But you’re the only person I’m willingly going to give my faith. And Mylene is someone who might just be someone I can trust completely. There’s a sense about her which makes me at ease.”

“That’s your dick speaking and not your brains. Maybe if you get your head out of her ass, you could think clearly. Right now, lets get the fuck out of here. I haven’t been around town in a long time as well. And God knows I need it today.” Saying so, he pulled on a jacket and held the door open for me.

“Silas, I should be the one telling you that you need to learn how to switch the conversation better. Maybe you should learn some tact.”

“Vic, I think I should be the one reminding you that you’re the one paying tonight. Maybe you should think about that.”

Chapter 4: The Incident.

Once I finished the shower I decided that if I was going to get on with earning the money, I should get back on the city circuit and see who still remembers old Vic Sullivan.

Back in the day, a number of people in and around Dogtown owed me a lot of stuff; back when I was a cop. And that doesn’t mean I was a dirty cop, its’ just that somehow me and Silas always found a number of loopholes in the law. Life was good when Dogtown was safer than it is now. But 4 years back all hell broke loose.

4 years ago, the Lombardi Family was getting into a deal with some newcomers from across the sea. At this time, Vadim Alexiev had just created his small army of men from around town and was planning to pick a bone with the Italians. So when the tourists came, with all their flashy new guns and toys, Vadim didn’t plan to be left out of the deal. So he crashed the Italians party at Long Harbor, and that’s where the battle for Dogtown began.

Few people who were there at that moment dare to talk about what happened at Long Harbor. I was one of the cops who were sent to clean up the mess left by the first fight between the Mob and the Family. Silas was with me at the time and we just thought its going to be a routine forensic gather and register. We never expected the place to look like a war-zone.

Apparently the people the Family was trying to break a deal with had got their very own arsenal of heavy weaponry; grenades, machine guns, the whole deal. So when Vadim crashed the joint with his men, in a bid to cut a deal with them, the Italians didn’t take too lightly to the unwelcome interruption.

Tempers ran high and someone opened fire on the tourists, no ones sure who started it, but it was Vadim who ended it at that place. The head Lombardi’s got out quick once they realized that the tourists weren’t going to hold back on their firepower, Mike was making sure the deal went down smooth, and this qualified as a good time to bail.

All I remember is the mess we cleaned up the next day was not a welcome sight. Vadim and his men killed the dealers and took the goods, when someone tallied what they had taken from the dead tourists I was sure the chief had a little nervous breakdown. All that firepower, in the hands of a renegade Russian, with no morals and only one aim; to control Dogtown. No one was willing to accept what was surely going to happen.

Vadim “The Russian” Alexiev spread a web of terror across the city and declared all out war on the Italians. And somewhere along the line he picked up some gentlemanly habits and turned his small gang into an organized mob. The Italians kept the war raging but had to give up most parts of the city to the Russian’s demands. South Dogtown became the centre of the Vadim’s activities and the Italians were barely able to hold onto their power in the north.

Somewhere between these 4 years a lot of people changed. Me and Silas kept at our job of locking up whoever took a dislike to our tastes and the law, but mostly we remained good, clean cops until the incident. The one incident that would change my life forever. I called it the beginning of my end.

I remember the night vividly; we had been called down to a warehouse in South Dogtown where supposedly a deal was going down between Vadim’s deputy; Miroslav and some drug a dealer from across the border. We were to wait until we received the go from HQ to raid the place. But everyone knew that was never going to come. Me and Silas decided to go in, we didn’t plan on shooting anyone, just keeping an eye on who all were in the building.

Silas went in from the back door, and I crawled in from an open window on the east side. The first thing I heard was the sound of Miroslav talking to some guy about the price of the “goods”. Jackpot. If we put these people in then our career was made. But I couldn’t call for backup without making some noise, and I was sure they would hear.

So instead of calling backup, I did the next stupidest thing on my list. I called out with utmost confidence. “Miroslav, come out with you hands behind you head, the Dogtown PD has the warehouse surrounded.”

I sensed the panic in the room as the drug dealers pulled out their weapons. The Russians didn’t expect anyone of them to bring a piece to a drug deal and Miroslav and his men pulled out their guns, and finding no one else to point them at, pointed them at the drug dealers instead.

I was counting on this chaos and I saw Silas at the other end of the room. I gave him the signal and both of us let out one shot upwards. Sometimes all you need is one sound to start the stampede. The ensuing gunfight was good enough for the 4^th of July, and it was a full 10 minutes before it stopped.

I thought everyone was dead, and prayed my partner was alive. So I called out his name from where I was hidden. He called out to say he was alive and unhurt, and that’s when I heard some footsteps right behind me.

I didn’t hesitate for a moment as I turned around and fired off 2 shots into the dark. What I saw next made my blood go cold.

A kid stepped out from the darkness; I saw the bullet holes spewing blood all over his clean white shirt. He must’ve been around 15 years old and his face was going pale as the blood left it. He stumbled over to where I was sitting in shock and fell over in my hands and I felt him leave his body. The only thing I could think of at the moment was that I had killed a kid; an innocent child. I pulled my gun from under his body and put the barrel in my mouth; it seemed like the only way to pay for what I had done. But Silas had hurried over when he heard the gunshots and kicked the gun out of my hand before I pulled the trigger.

What happened afterwards is, as they say, history. The media got a hold of the story of the raid before anything else. They praised police force with the first successful raid in a long time on the morning papers. The next day they found out about the dead kid and crucified me for it. Silas told the chief about me trying to blow my own head off so the chief declared me suicidal and mentally ill and had me kicked from the force.

Silas was going to be celebrated for the greatest drug heist in the history of Dogtown, but instead he chose to resign and put the valor on someone else’s name. He knew that if Vadim found out the person behind the death of his aide Miroslav, then that man was worse than dead. And sure enough the guy who got the credit for the raid was found face down in the river two days later.

After that incident the war raged on. Vadim knew that I was there at the time of Miroslav’s death, and he also knew about the dead kid. Mike sent his regrets for my being removed from the uniform but never mentioned the dead kid, probably out of respect for my mindset, at least that’s what I like to think.

The war had raged on for 3 years since, and I had been in exile for the whole time. I had tried to set up a small private eye business a year back but never got down to working for it. Silas and Mike were my two links to the outside world and everything else was just a blur.

So today after almost 3 years in self exile I was headed out to town again. I was a renewed man; with money to spend and a new life to live. And for the first time in years; a reason to get up in the morning.

I only wish I’d realized then what a fool I was to think that life could come anywhere close to normal.

Chapter 3: The Goon Squad.

Two interesting visits in as many days. Life was picking up its pace since Mylene Rivers came waltzing through that door. I couldn’t wait to make it back home and possibly get rid of this impossible hangover. Maybe a warm shower could help me unwind, and might even help me pick up my own speed to stick with the rate at which things were changing around me.

But it seems fate had a different idea for me.

The first thing I noticed once I reached my door was that it was open. I distinctly remember locking the door when I left home last night. My hand instinctively reached for my .6 Magnum safely strapped to my shoulder holster; my insurance policy in Dogtown. I cocked the gun and kicked open the door.

The apparent theft was the least of my worries. As soon I opened the door, the first face I saw was Sergey Tesla. At that moment I thought I was a dead man. The thought that Vadim himself would never have sent anyone to kill me; that wasn’t his style, never crossed my mind at that moment. If anyone was going to kill Vic Sullivan, it was going to be Vadim himself. He would never send a foot soldier like Sergey to kill an apparent high-profile target like me. Sergey was the Russian’s dirt-man, he did the dirty jobs, like extortion, kidnapping, shooting of knee-caps, all that stuff. He was ex-Russian army; there was story which said Sergey was court-martialed for torturing a POW by cutting his genitalia off while he was alive. In short, Sergey was not a welcome sight in anyone’s home, especially not this early in the day.

I tried to gather my thoughts as I heard 6 other guns being cocked. The first thought in my mind at this moment was that my gun only has 6 bullets, and I’m facing possibly 7 people who, probably, wish to kill me within the next few minutes. So in the best case scenario, I could probably kill off six people and hope that the last one goes into shock. Just as I was planning my escape route and my last will and testament at the same time, someone spoke up.

“Don’t think so much Vic; this isn’t what it looks like.” It was Sergey. “This is just a routine visit Vadim didn’t have the time for himself.”

“If it’s not what it looks like, then why am I staring down the barrel of your gun? And why on earth are 7 heavily armed men doing in my living room?” I have a knack of keeping calm under pressure, guess staring down gun-points most of your life, sort of leaves you with that talent.

“Well, Vadim was busy, and he wanted to see how his old friend was doing. He heard you were back in business, and he said he needed some help with a job.” News sure travels fast in Dogtown. “He asked me to give you a message, that if you are indeed back in business, he has need for someone with your particular skills. He told me to give you some cash up front to make sure you accept.” He threw down an envelope filled with cash. I could get used to the sight of these envelopes; I was seeing a lot of them these days. “That’s 50 grand.”

At least the Russian’s mistress pays better. “Tell Vadim, I’ll come by the mansion tomorrow and see what I can do.” By now I was longing for that shower, just waiting for Sergey and his band of merry men to leave.

“Let’s go boys; Vic has had a long night it seems.” I think Sergey picked up the cue, “Oh, and Vic, tell Silas not to worry about the money, The Russian says the last shipment covers the deal. He’ll know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that, and you tell Vadim, next time he wants to send a message, use the phone, and tell him not to pull the goon squad for every little job.”

I waited till I heard their tires screech before I un-cocked my gun, there’s now way I was going to take a chance with someone like Sergey invading my home. The first thing to do was to check up if they took anything. Mainly if they discovered the other brown envelope, not unlike the one Sergey just handed me.

After a quick check I relaxed after realizing they didn’t go through the place. Probably must’ve got here a few minutes before me, didn’t get enough time was my guess. Whatever the situation, I was safe, for the moment, and the only thing I desperately needed was a long, warm shower.

I got to thinking about the events since Mylene had walked into my home. So far Silas and Mike had been right on one thing, the woman had meant a lot of trouble for 24 hours since meeting her; I had met with the strongmen of both the Mob and the Family, the Italians had invited me to breakfast and the Russians had invaded my home. And if that wasn’t enough I was hearing all this talk about some deal between my ex-partner and the Russians.

Something big was going down in Dogtown soon. I could sense it. And somehow I felt, that this time I would have to choose my sides. I ignored the other voice in my head saying everything involved Mylene.

Chapter 2: Sunday Morning.

Some things never change. Not even in Dogtown. People come and go, but everyone wants to be someone in this city. And they’ll do anything to get to a point where no one can deny them what they want. It’s an unspoken rule to the rise in power in Dogtown; you have to lose a lot, to gain a little. But some people always find a way to bend the rules.

I had broken the rule completely; I had lost everything to gain nothing. Every time I met Silas he reminded me of the man I used to be. Last night’s whisky binge had brought out a lot of nostalgia. Most of those stories I’d tried to forget, but some memories have a way of haunting you, making you look over your shoulder every now and then, just making their presence felt. It gives you a bad case of nerves, all that bending.

As I left Silas’ fortress the next morning, I felt the chill of November colder than last night. In the daytime Dogtown turned alive. People who survived another night got on with their lives. Those who didn’t; made next morning’s headlines. Being a survivor of another night in Dogtown I decided to pick up some coffee to help me get through the chill. I stopped by the newsstand to take a look at the new death toll of the war between the Russians and Italians. Not much to read these days.

“The sports section seems to be losing its sheen these days.” I turned around so quick I almost spilled my precious coffee. “Maybe, they should hand the football team guns instead of shoulder pads.”

The voice belonged to Tony Piatti. That’s not a welcome face to see first thing in the morning. Tony was the Iron Hand of the Lombardi family, and he did his best to look the part. Every piece of his 6’ 2” frame screamed two things; I’m rich and I’m ruthless. He wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Godfather movies, hell; they should’ve hired him to play the part of Luca Braci, except they would have to explain the scars somewhere in the book.

“Long time no see Vic, word is these days you a retired man, checking out the view from our side, eh?” I took his talking instead of shooting as a good sign, “Don’t blame ya at all Sullivan, you were never too honest to handle a uniform job.”

“Well, I realized quickly that there are advantages to being on the other side of the law, you know what they say, about the grass being greener and all that jazz.”

“Well, I don’t know ‘bout the grass, but the dough sure is greener on this side. Let’s take a walk shall we? Mike wants to talk with you ‘bout something.” Tony’s words were often the last a man heard, depending on your reply to them. But I figured that if the Italians wanted me dead, I’d be lying on the street instead of drinking my coffee. Besides, if Mike was involved in this, then I was probably going to live another day.

Michael Aldrin, a.k.a. Mike, he was the second man of the Family. He was one of those local boys, who worked their way up from the bottom, through an intricate web of bloodshed and intelligence. Mike had started off back when the family was just getting big. He realized quickly that if he wanted to get to the top and stay alive, he would need his brains more than his gun. Word on the street was he never fired his gun in his 17 years with the Family. Tony did the shooting, Mike did the talking. Yet Mike brought about more fear in people’s minds than Tony, the only thing more dangerous than a remorseless murderer, is a calculated killer.

Mike and I went way back. We both grew up in the same neighborhood in South Dogtown. His old man was taken down by the Russians when Mike was 14. Ever since his dad died Mike joined up with the Italians and hopes to exact revenge on the man who killed his father; Vadim.

I walked with Tony till Sonny’s bistro, Mike’s daily morning coffee and breakfast joint. If anyone ever needed to find him for anything till noon, this was the place. He kept saying that the first sign he’s dead is going to be his corner seat being empty the next morning.

Mike welcomed me with his trademark happy smile, the man never let anyone know what was going on behind those eyes, he could’ve made millions on the poker circuit; maybe revenge seems better than money. “Vic, my old friend, what would you like for breakfast?”

“Its Sunday, Mike, I’ve had a long night. What’s the greasiest thing this place has that can kick off a hangover?”

“The steak is to die for.” Humor was one of Mike’s plus points. At least he thought so.

“Well then that’s out of my budget, I’ll have a cheeseburger.” The waitress jotted it down and went on her way.

“So, been a long night, huh? How’s Silas’ business doing these days? I heard he got jacked for a few grand the other day, by the Russians.” This was news; Silas would’ve mentioned if the Russians crossed him for some money, he usually made sure the cash was in the same room as the guns.

“Maybe Silas finally started the credit system in gun dealing. He’s always been one for business innovations.”

“Yes, yes, but the thing with running a business is, some innovations tend to fail. Just hope Silas isn’t losing his touch in such a short time. It would be a shame to lose our biggest gun dealer in Dogtown, and a good a friend as well.” Mike had a way of blending sarcasm with each statement. You never knew what he meant by what he said.

“No, I hope not. Wouldn’t want the Lombardi’s to get into a fix with their gunsmith dead. I don’t think there’s anyone else in Dogtown who would dare to sell the Family anything that Silas sells.”

“There are others. But let’s not go there. That’s now why I invited you to Sunday breakfast with me and Tony.” Here comes the bombshell, “You know my boys were keeping an eye on your building, for security, when they swear they saw the strangest thing last night. A taxi pulled up and out stepped the most beautiful woman in this hellhole. They could’ve sworn they had gone mad, coz nothing they were seeing made sense to them. Now, the question that needs to be asked, my old friend, is, what is the Russian’s woman doing at your doorstep in the middle of the night?”

“She came to me with business. Business which I was meaning to talk to you about, in some time.” I realized this would be the best time and best person to ask. Anyone else in the Family would’ve blown my head off rather than answer what I was about to ask. I decided to go slow. “You and I, we go back a long way Mike and you know you can trust me no matter what happens. We’ve grown up together and seen a lot of shit go down in this city. And somehow both of us have survived. So when I tell you its strictly business, you know I mean it.”

“Yea, I guess that’s true. But I aint worried for you about my boys Vic, if the Russian found out, you know he wouldn’t like it. He’s not one to take such things lightly. Mylene is not someone who walks into a guy’s house in the middle of the night, no matter what the business is.” Mike’s poker face kept me guessing which part was the one covered in sarcasm.

“This was business which Vadim could never know about.” I sensed I should ask and get it done with, “Do the Italians have hit out with Mylene’s name on it?”

“You know the deal Vic, I can’t tell you about the working of the Family. You decided to stay neutral when everyone else chose their sides. I respect you for that, and I don’t blame you either. But you know as well as anyone that I can’t discuss my business with someone outside the Family.”

“I know that, but someone’s got a hit out for Mylene, and I’m being paid to find out who. This is business. I’m asking from a friend to a friend, have you heard anything about a price on Mylene’s head?” I didn’t expect a reply from him.

“As a friend, all I can say is that I heard nothing about the Family calling a hit on Mylene, but what I have heard is there is a price on Mylene’s head, a big one. No one knows who’s put the card out.” Mike had a way of letting people know when the conversation was over. This was it.

He got up to leave, but I had to ask him one more favor, “ Put a word in with Leon that I want to meet him about something,” He was one of the few people who could set me up for a meeting with the Italian boss.

“I’ll see what I can do. And Vic, I called you here to warn you, as a friend; stay away from that woman, she’s no good for any man. Not even Vadim.”

Funny how people keep telling me that these days.