Igor
Two days have passed since the meeting. Since then, neither Caesar nor I have made an effort to communicate. Both of us are sitting in our own egos this time.
While I deal with the intern issue, Caesar handles our illegal work and the police issue.
Akim interrupted me as I was browsing through some documents in my office.
“Boss, we found him!” His voice was loud.
“Then, what the hell are you waiting for? Go and get him!” My voice rose slightly. He quickly nodded and left.
I let out a sigh of relief at last. At least one issue will now be resolved.
By night, Akim caught that intern and imprisoned him in our dungeon. I also told him to inform Caesar about it. So, right now, we both are here. A single dim lightbulb swung overhead, casting flickering shadows across the room.
In the center of the dungeon, that man was tied to a chair, his wrists and ankles bound tightly with thick ropes. His face was pale, bruised from earlier blows, and blood trickled from a cut above his eyebrow. He was trembling, his eyes darting between Caesar and me.
I, as always, was calm, composed, watching the man with cold, predatory eyes but Caesar standing a little far from me was anything but calm. His face was set in a hard mask of fury, the simmering anger beneath his skin ready to explode at any moment.
He stepped forward, grabbing the man by the hair and yanking his head back roughly, forcing the man to look at him.
“I’ll give only one chance to speak. So, you better think before opening your mouth” His voice was a low growl as he leaned closer to him.
“I-I didn’t mean to…” The intern’s voice was shaking.
The sound of Caesar’s fist slamming into the man’s jaw echoed through the dungeon. The man’s head snapped to the side, blood spraying from his mouth.
“Don’t you fucking test my patience!” Caesar hissed.
“Pls, I was just doing what I was told” He said in a weak and panicked voice.
Caesar cut him off with another punch, this one harder than the last. The intern coughed, spitting out blood, his breath ragged.
“Who told you? Who the hell thought to cross me?” His voice was a deadly whisper.
The intern shook his head frantically, his panic growing as the reality of his situation set in. So, I stepped in.
“Let me handle” I said for the first time since I came here.
Without saying anything or even looking at me, Caesar stepped back. He leaned against the wall with arms crossed against his chest and knuckles bleeding.
“Names… I want names!” My voice was low but sharp.
“I don’t know their real names! They contacted me through an encrypted message. They wanted me to create small holes in the system, to redirect money through dummy accounts” He whimpered in terror.
“They already knew that I was going to be an intern in the account department and was in need of money. So, they lure me in with large sum of amount… I swear, I don’t know about them or their plan” Tears were rolling down from his eyes.
Next second, I took out my knife and sliced his neck, blood pouring out quickly.
I glanced at Caesar who just looked at the man for a few seconds as if he was thinking about something.
“Find them! Every contact, every account, every trace of them” His voice now calm and controlled. I nodded while wiping the blood from my hand.
Without another word, Caesar walked out of the dungeon. Another day, without talking to each other, except for work related.
I went to my room, showered, and went to bed, but I only slept for a few hours…Next day, I drove to our office after breakfast to thoroughly search these account systems.
In Caesar’s absence I was handling our white business and everything was going smoothly until my office door swung open with a bang. Celina rushed in, her face pale and eyes wide with panic. I looked up, my brow furrowing at the unexpected intrusion.
“Celina, what happened?”
“The po-police! They are here! To arrest you!” Her voice was trembling.
My expression darkened immediately, a storm of fury flashing in my eyes. I stood up abruptly, knocking the chair back as I slammed my hands on the desk.
“Arrest me?” My voice was low and dangerous, seething with disbelief.
Before Celina could answer, I walked out of the office to see several police officers, dressed in full tactical gear were standing in the hallway.
The second they saw me, their faces were pale and tense. The lead officer stepped forward, his hand resting nervously on the holster of his gun, his face betraying his fear.
“Igor Smirnov…” His voice wavering slightly despite his attempt at authority.
“You are arrested for multiple counts of murder. We have evidence tying you to numerous criminal activities. You are…” My cold and sharp eyes cut him off, sending chills down the spines of the officers.
“You think you can just walk into my office, arrest me, and live to tell about it?” I hissed.
“We have no choice…The higher ups gave the order” The lead officer swallowed hard, his hand trembling slightly on his gun.
“Do you think hiding behind your badges will protect you from me?” My rage boiled over as I stepped even closer to the officer, my breath hot against the man’s face.
“We’re just following orders. The evidence… it’s too strong” The officer stammered.
“You think I care about your orders? Do you know who I am?…I run this country” My voice lowering to a deadly whisper.
The officers stood frozen, their nerves frayed under my brutal presence. They knew the stories, the rumors about what I had done, about how far I was willing to go to protect this empire.
“Igor… we don’t want this to end badly. Just come with us, and we’ll figure it out” The lead officer, barely keeping his composure, reached for his handcuffs.
For a moment, the room was deathly silent, the tension thick enough to cut.
“Pls, don’t make this harder for us” He pleaded with a trembling voice.
“I’ll go with you but… this isn’t over” I said coldly.
Then, with a slow, deliberate movement, I turned around and walked towards the lift with a convoy of officers behind me. My face was calm but eyes still burning with fury.
I will find out who dared to defy me, and when I did, the country would burn in retribution.
(Caesar!… What havoc will he wreak when he’ll find out about Igor’s arrest?)
Comment