Chapter 2-Leverage P2
“You little s**t, stop fucking around with this memory loss nonsense or I will make you remember me for the rest of your miserable life” he said menacingly. Tears started pouring down my checks as I was gasping for air. I tried to speak but his grip was so tight around my neck I could barely breathe. After a couple of seconds, he released me.
“Take this bitch to where she was last and search for the phone with her. If she will do anything stupid, kill her.” he told Yuri without taking his eyes off me.
” Yes boss!” the other man answered and grabbed me by the arm, pulling me all the way outside. Without any notice, he opened the car door and throwed me inside, speeding away. After what seemed to be an eternity, we got to a suburb full of houses and he dragged me out of the car saying:
“Look around and see if you can find that fucking phone”. He leaned on the side of the car looking at me while I was searching desperately for the phone that was nowhere to be found. Five minutes passed and suddenly I heard a familiar ringtone. I stopped and listened carefully, shortly realizing that the phone ringing was actually mine. Following the sound, I got to some sort of drain that had a manhole cover with metal bars.
“Jesus” I said to myself “...how am I going to get my phone out of that shithole?” For a second, I thought of asking the gorilla to do it but then I realized that his hands are too big to fit though the bars. I bent over and managed to get one hand through them but still the gap between it and the phone was considerable. I went back to the car where he was now smoking a cigarette. His eyes stopped on me, full with contempt.
“Did you manage to find it?”, he asked.
“Yes, but I need something to grab it because I can’t reach it.”
He opened the car door and searched the glove compartment handing me something that looked like a thread with a fishing hook.
” Seriously?” I asked ironically.” It’s a phone, not a fish.” He narrowed his eyes, remaining silent so I stopped complaining as I didn’t want to push his buttons. I went back to the drain and tried to grab the phone, but I got startled by someone’s voice.
“Hi! Can I help you with something?” a man voice asked me amiably. I raised quickly and bumped into his chest.
I raised my head to see the giant in front of me. He was tall, measuring over 6 feet with broad chest, green eyes and black curly hair. He was somewhere in his late 20’s and had a seductive yet childish smile creating small dimples on either side of his mouth. I felt my face burning as he looked into my eyes, so averted my gaze, glaring straight as his chest.
“I dropped my phone into the drain and I can’t get it out...” I replied, stammering from his unexpected question and afraid Yuri will notice me talking to him. He leaned over to see the cause of my misfortune.
” Well...” he said after a couple of seconds “You surely can’t do anything with that little hook of yours” he chuckled, raising back up.” I have something home that might help us get it out though...Do you want to wait here or would you like to come with me?” he inquired. Suddenly I realized this was my chance to get away.
” Listen”, I said to him smiling as if discussing a funny topic “You see that guy next to that black car?”
“Yes.” he answered smiling back at me.
“He is a bad man and he will hurt me if he sees me leaving with someone or even talking for that matter” I said moving my eyes to Yuri’s direction, maintaining the same forced smile.
His face expression changed as his smile suddenly vanished and he barely glanced at the gorilla, measuring him in two seconds and immediately facing me again.
“I’m an FBI agent. Just do as I say and nothing will happen to you, I promise! Ok? Do you trust me?” he asked nodding slowly as if suggesting me I should trust him. I bobbed my head quickly, feeling the rush and fear that was coursing through my entire body.
”Stay here for now. I’m going to go over to him and have a talk. When you’ll see me looking at you and moving my head, you run as fast as you can to that yellow house, got it?” he told me, tilting his head to the direction of the house.
Turning my face to the left I saw a house about 300 feet from where we were standing that had an american flag waving at the front door.
” Yes.” I answered with a shaking voice. He left me, approaching the gorilla and began talking to him. I could not apprehend what he was telling to Yuri but he was not pleased, becoming agitated as seconds went by. After 1 minute, the mysterious man turned his head finding me instantly with his eyes, nodding that now it’s time to run. I started running as fast as I could and didn’t look behind but I’ve heard someone being hit brutally and a voice yelling:
“This is FBI. You are under arrest for seizure and illegal possession of a weapon”. After 15 minutes, two black SUV’s parked in front of the black car and Yuri was handcuffed and thrown in one of them. I witnessed the scene and I felt relieved knowing that I was safe but my heart began racing again as I thought of Nicolai and the fact that he was a dangerous man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. My thoughts were interrupted by the man who saved me.
” I’m sorry you had to witness that, but I had to punch him. He would have become aggressive and things would have been worse.” he said calmly.
” I know and I am sorry for dragging you into all of this.” I said bowing my head in guilt as I risked his life to save mine.
” Actually, you are quite a hero.” he followed smiling as he sat next to me on the stairs in front of his house. He then added “this guy turns out to be the right had of the most notorious mafia leader in this city. If it wasn’t for your bravery, he would have still roamed free on the streets of New York.” I watched the man next to me and admired him even more now that, although the situation seemed dire in my mind, he actually found a workaround to make me feel better. Involuntarily, my eyes stopped on a blonde woman that witnessed the entire scene from her door frame. The drain was right in front of her house so I guessed she was annoyed by the incident and the FBI agents trying to collect evidences. She looked familiar but I did not bother going there and see who she was. Instead, I remembered that my phone was still in the drain.
” Can you please pick up my phone? I think I have something that might help you get Nicolai.” He looked perplexed.
” What do you mean?”
” There might be a video with him... he seemed eager for me to delete it." A smile appeared on his face at the hearing of my words. His face turned to
” May I ask your name?”
” Sure!My name is Misha, Misha Kralenka” I answered, smiling and stretching my hand to him.
” Hmm...you are Russian.You don’t look like the standard russian woman to me.” he told me with a smirk on his face.
“I know, everybody tells me that. I get it from my father’s side. He was turkish. He met my mother when he came to Moscow for his studies. What about you?” I asked.
“I most certainly don’t look like a russian.” he raising his hands and we both chuckled after which he added shaking my hand “My name is William, William Morris .Well Misha, you better get yourself comfortable cause I’m transferring you to the witness protection program.” he said and my face dropped as he gave me the news.